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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



VETERINARY MEDICINE SERIES 

No. 7 

Edited by D. M. CAMPBELL, D. V. S. 



SPECIAL 
CATTLE THERAPY 



BY 



..vJ 



MART R; STEFFEN, M. D. C, V. S. 

Author of "SPECIAL VETERINARY THERAPY"; Editor 

"Therapeutic Digest Department," American 
Journal of Veterinary Medicine 



Chicago 
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY MEDICINE 

1915 



Copyright, 1915, 

P.Y 
1) M. CAMPIiELL 



C. 



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PREFACE 

Special Cattle Therapy was written to fill the de- 
mand for a concise, practical treatise on the treatment 
of the commoner diseases of cattle. 

As in "Special Veterinary Therapy" no particular 
system of medicine is advocated, practical procedures 
only being given attention ; especially, such treatments 
and methods of handling as the author's experience 
has suggested as being successful. 

While every effort has been made to harmonize all 
procedures with the teachings of veterinary science as 
far as is consistent, scientific teachings have been sac- 
rificed where the ultimate result has demanded methods 
of treatment bordering on the empirical. Where such 
sacrifice has been made, however, an attempt is made 
in every instance to explain the action and effect of 
empirical methods on a scientific basis. 

MART R. STEFFEN. 
Brillion, Wis. 

August, 1915. 



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INTRODUCTION 

The Action of Drugs 

Of all the domestic animals cattle, more particularly 
dairy cattle, respond most satisfactorily to the action 
of drugs. A system of specific medication is possible 
in cattle if it is possible in any animal. Granted that 
the drug has been intelligently selected for the disease, 
and that it has been judiciously administered, a defi- 
nite action is always forthcoming. This is true whether 
the drug be given orally or hypodermically, but espe- 
cially so when given orally. 

The Administration of Drug's 

For all practical purposes the administration of 
drugs can be limited to oral and hypodermic adminis- 
tration. 

Oral administration in the cow is a very simple pro- 
cedure, especially so when the cow is not confined in a 
stanchion. The thumb and forefinger of the left hand 
grasp the nasal septum firmly from above and just 
inside the nostrils. The head is then raised straight 
up, under the veterinarian's left arm, and the medi- 
cine emptied into the mouth. Most cows will swallow 
liquids in this manner just as fast as they are poured 
in. Usually the veterinarian can do this single-handed ; 
now and then a head-strong cow will require that a 
helper give the veterinarian sonm assistance in keep- 
ing the animal's head raised. There is an impression 
among farmers that the tongue must be held out of 



6 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

one corner of the cow's mouth when the animal is 
being drenched. This is erroneous. The tongue should 
not be touched by the person giving the drench. The 
free use of the tongue is necessary to properly per- 
form the act of deglutition. The mouth of the bottle 
used for drenching should rest against the roof of the 
cow's mouth, just back of the dental pad, and should 
then follow the movements of the tongue, up and down. 
In other words, each time the cow swallows the mouth 
opens wider and the tongue is drawn back towards 
the pharynx; the bottle should follow in, keeping it 
against the roof of the mouth and until the shoulder 
of the bottle strikes th*e first molar. When the act of 
deglutition is completed the tongue comes forward 
again and the mouth closes; the bottle is then allowed 
to come forward again towards the region just back 
of the dental pad. This is repeated at each deglutitory 
act until the medicine has been entirely poured in. 
When cattle are drenched in this manner the danger 
of inhalation pneumonia from portions of the medica- 
ment entering the larynx are nil. 

To jam the bottle into the corner of the cow's mouth 
when drenching and hold it there until it is empty is 
not the correct method and usually induces a fit of 
coughing immediately after the drench. 

The hypodermatic administration of drugs does not 
differ materially in cows from the same procedure in 
horses. It is only necessary to use a heavier needle 
and to select a place in the skin where it can be in- 
serted easily. ' The top of the shoulder presents a good 
area for the entrance of the hypodermic needle in 
cows. The skin is loose enough here so that a fold 
can be picked Up, and it is not so tough here as in 
other parts. Another point in selecting this region 
lies in the fact that the veterinarian can get into such 



INTRODUCTION 7 

a position here that he can avoid being kicked by the 
cow when the needle is thrust in. 

The needle should be thrust from above downwards, 
and a slip needle should be used if possible. If a 
needle with a screw thread is used it is frequently 
broken if it is thrust in while attached to the syringe. 
If it is not attached to the syringe, too much time is 
lost in attaching the syringe after the needle is in situ. 

When the cow is recumbent the injection can be 
given in the side of the neck, or in the region of the 

flank. 

Abscess formations following on hypodermatic injec- 
tions in cattle are almost never seen, even when no 
antiseptic precautions are taken. 

Things that Make for Success in Cattle Practice 

In beginning the discussion of diseases of cattle it 
might be in place to call the reader's attention to the 
fact that it would be a difficult matter to cite author- 
itative and, at the same time, practical writings on a 
system of therapeutics for cattle. Bovine therapy is 
a specialty of veterinary medicine which offers a con- 
siderable field for the development of improved and 
enlightened methods of treatment. The same is true 
of the diagnosis of diseases of cattle. 

Another point worthy of consideration in cattle prac- 
tice is the veterinarian's personality, or his demeanor 
towards the patient. This can almost be summed up 
in two words: "Be gentle." We are speaking, of 
course, of dairy cattle. No consideration is given to 
range cattle in this treatise. 

The diseases with which we shall concern ourselves 
in the following chapters include the pathologic con- 
ditions and accidents in cattle with which the prac- 



8 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

titioner most frequently meets, and especially those 
conditions upon the proper and efficient handling of 
which depend the veterinarian's popularity and his 
financial success in a country practice. 



RANULA 

There does not ' seem to be much conformity of 
opinion among" veterinarians as to just what a ranula 
is. For the present purpose we shall call a ranula a 
cyst which makes its appearance under the tongue, 
extending from the fraenum linguae forward, towards 
the incisors. It is quite generally presumed, that this 
condition is the result of foreign particles entering 
into the substance of the submaxillary gland through 
Wharton's duct. 

The symptoms in this condition usually begin with 
the appearance of fullness or swelling which can be 
seen best by viewing the cow's head from the side. 
It begins two or three inches behind the chin in the 
inter-maxillary space, is pouch-like and extends back- 
ward towards the larynx. This swelling is movable 
and caii be pushed upwards between the rami of the 
lower jaw, free from the skin. (The swelling of acti- 
nomycosis affecting this region is adherent.) 

After a period of time the cow does not eat nor- 
mally and saliva constantly drips from the mouth. 

Usually it is at about this time that the veterinarian 
is called. When, after having noted the external 
swelling, he examines the interior of the mouth he 
discovers a swelling below the free portion of the 
tongue. This swelling usually is circumscribed, stand- 
ing out from the parts to the height of an inch or 
two and, in the early stages, is quite firm. The fact 



RANULA 9 

that the swelling is circumscribed sharply, differen- 
tiates ranula from all other abnormalities in this part 
of the anatomy, and it can not be mistaken for any 
other disease. 

The treatment is chiefly surgical and consists of 
lancing- the swelling in the mouth at the point proximal 
to the incisors. A straight abscess knife is merely 
thrust into the front of the swelling and withdrawn ; 
no extensive incision need be made. If the disease is 
of recent occurrence the discharge which is emitted 
following the lance is quite thick and of a dark gray 
color ; in fact, more of the appearance and consistency 
of necrotic tissue shreds than of pus. If the disease 
has existed for a considerable length of time the swell- 
ing, which is then not so firm, contains a rather thin, 
syrupy fluid. Nothing further is done to the lesion in 
the mouth, but the external swelling is to be treated 
with a mild counter-irritant or an absorbent. 

Relief is immediate when the cyst has been lanced 
and the cow begins to eat normally. The essential 
feature in the handling of this condition lies in lancing 
the swelling in the mouth. The external swelling 
should never be incised. Further, no time should be 
wasted in waiting for the internal swelling to "point"; 
it should be lanced even if it is apparently "not ready" 
to be lanced. Whenever ranula has reached the stage 
in which it produces trouble in eating it is ready for 
opening, no matter how firm it may feel. The knife 
should penetrate to the center with one thrust ; upon 
its withdrawal the contents of the cyst makes its exit. 



10 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

DENTAL IRREGULARITIES AND OTHER SPO- 
RADIC DISEASED CONDITIONS IN 
THE MOUTH 

Dental Irregularities 

Irregularities of the teeth do not come to the atten- 
tion of the veterinarian frequently in a cattle practice. 
When such irregularities do occur they are usually so 
evident by their symptoms that the diagnosis is not 
difficult. 

Probably the most common dental irregularity that 
occurs in the cow is the split and deflected molar ; such 
molars are, in fact more common than is generally sup- 
posed. Systematic examination of the mouth and the 
dental arches will disclose this abnormality quite fre- 
quently. 

It is, however, astonishing to what length a split 
and deflected molar can grow in cattle without inter- 
fering to any great degree with mastication or the well- 
being of the animal. We have seen only a very few 
cases of ulceration of teeth accompanied by bony en- 
largements and subsequent abscess formation on the 
maxilla. 

Now and then a case is presented in which deciduous 
molars are capping the permanent teeth, producing a 
certain degree of difficulty in mastication. This con- 
dition is very rare also. 

The treatment of dental abnormalities in the cow 
does not differ materially from the treatment of simi- 
lar conditions in equine subjects. Split and elongated 
molars are either extracted or cut down with the molar 
cutter. Ulcerated fangs are repulsed if they can not 
be grasped with the extracting forceps. 



DENTAL IRREGULARITIES 11 

No manipulations of any extent should ever be at- 
tempted in the mouth of the cow without the use of a 
strong mouth speculum. Those not acquainted with 
the contractile power of the masseters of the cow 
should not chance experience to make this acquaint- 
ance. The power of the masseters in the cow is tre- 
mendous; aided by the scissor-like movements, of 
which the mandible is capable in this animal, it makes 
manipulations in the cavity without the use of a good 
mouth speculum far from a safe procedure. A per- 
fectly trustworthy speculum can be made from an or- 
dinary plow clevis, when no other speculum is at 
hand. We have used a plow clevis for this purpose 
a number of times and with satisfaction. Care must 
be observed to keep it in an upright position, in case 
the cow moves the head suddenly. 

Stomatitis From Mis-Cut Ensilage 

Ensilage improperly cut in length is frequently the 
cause of a considerable degree of stomatitis and ulcer- 
ations of the buccal mucosa. 

The condition makes itself known by profuse sali- 
vation, smacking of the lips, and refusal of feed. All 
the symptoms point to a purely local trouble in the 
mouth. Several cattle are usually affected simultane- 
ously. Examination will show the mucous membrane 
of the mouth quite generally inflamed, with numbers 
of spots in various stages of ulceration. 

We recall an instance during the recent epizootic of 
foot-and-mouth disease in which a city veterinarian 
diagnosed this condition, caused by mis-cut ensilage, 
foot-and-mouth disease. A small-town country prac- 
titioner promptly set him right and handled the cases 
to the satisfaction of all concerned by withdrawing 
the ensilage from the daily ration. 



12 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

This, in fact, practically constitutes the entire treat- 
ment of this condition. Should a particular case pre- 
sent especially severe lesions a mouth wash can be 
used for a few days, or the ulcerating spots can be 
touched up with equal parts tincture iodin and com- 
pound tincture of benzoin a few times. 

Foreign Bodies in the Tongue 

Hard, sharp objects such as pins, nails, pieces of wire 
and the like, are quite frequently found lodged in the 
tongue of the cow. We dare say, that in probably 
ninety-five per cent of the cases absolutely no symp- 
toms are produced that can be observed ordinarily. 

When symptoms of an objective nature are produced 
they point very distinctly to the region involved. 
Objects which are not wholly embedded in the lingual 
tissues may be discovered without difficulty. They are 
to be removed and the wound given whatever atten- 
tion is required. Very small wounds here are best 
left alone. 

Objects which are wholly embedded are detected by 
very careful and painstaking examination, disclosing 
their location always as a distinctly circumscribed area 
of hardened tissue. When this area has been located 
it is still necessary to locate the object itself by in- 
cision, carrying the incision inward by repeated cuts 
until the object is disclosed. It is then to be appro- 
priately removed and the wound is treated along ordi- 
nary lines. 



ACUTE PAROTITIS 13 

ACUTE PAROTITIS 

Acute inflammation of the parotid glands, commonly 
termed "mumps," is a very common disease of cattle 
It is seen under all conditions of housing and at va- 
riable seasons. The prognosis of parotitis in cattle, 
(not due to actinomycosis), is very favorable and the 
course of the disease is usually typical. 

Parotitis begins with a rigor in most cases. The 
temperature may run as high as 106° F. in the be- 
ginning. At the same time there is noticed a slight 
fullness in the region of the parotid gland, from the 
ear to the angle of the jaw. This fullness increases 
rapidly until at the end of twenty-four hours or there- 
about, there is a distinct, rounded swelling in the re- 
gion. This swelling is very tender on pressure, and 
the cow stands with the head extended in a line with 
the neck. If the trouble is unilateral the head is held 
to one side and partly twisted on its own axis. The 
cow attempts to eat but finds deglutition very pain- 
ful, and usually all feed is refused. In drinking water 
much time is consumed in the act and, after a number 
of swallows have been taken, the animal gives up the 
attempt, If the swelling in the parotid region is very 
extensive and reaches below the larynx # and between 
the rami of the lower jaw r there may be a degree of 
dyspnea. 

Ordinary cases yield to treatment in a week or ten 
days. In other cases abscess formation delays the 
recovery, so that in certain instances three or four 
weeks may elapse before the case is completely cured. 

The best results in the treatment of this disease are 
obtained from repeated injections of polyvalent bac- 
terins. We give a full dose hypodermically every three 
<!;iys until the case is under control. 



14 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

For local applications over the swollen parotids we 
have found nothing better than iodin tincture. The 
first two or three days we paint the entire swelling 
several times during the day with pure tincture of 
iodin. Later we make the applications only once daily. 

Since we have been using the foregoing treatment 
we have had no case with abscess formation, and re- 
covery is more prompt than with old line treatments. 
In addition to the above treatment we make it a rule 
to see to it that a tub or large pail of water is kept 
constantly before the animal where it can be reached 
without much effort. A few tablespoonfuls of dilute 
sulphuric acid are added to each tub of water, for its 
refrigerant and astringent effect. 

The feed should consist of thin slops and other moist 
feeds. 

If abscess formation should occur we recommend 
early incision. We do not pay much attention to the 
invasion of the parotid gland with the lance ; even 
when the abscess is lanced directly through the gland 
substance. Permanent salivary fistula is rare. 



ACTINOMYCOSIS ("Lumpy Jaw") 

Actinomycosis comes to the veterinarian's attention 
only when it is localized on some exterior portion of 
the body. Actinomycotic processes of the internal or- 
gans, such as the lungs for instance, are probably 
never diagnosed ante-mortem. 

The actinomycotic lesion most frequently seen in 
practice is in the region of the angle of the lower jaw 
or in the parotid region. Next in frequency as regards 
location is that form which involves the tissues lying 
in the space between the rami of the lower jaw. 



ACTINOMYCOSIS 15 

Not quite so frequent, but yet common enough, is 
actinomycosis of the tongue. In all forms this disease 
shows a decided preference for young or middle-aged 
cattle; old cattle are only occasionally affected. 

While it is presumed to be infectious it is generally 
found in isolated instances. One cow in a herd of 
dairy cattle may have the disease in a well-marked 
form and not another animal in the herd become 
affected; but often more than one become affected, the 
number sometimes including twenty-five per cent of 
large herds. 

When the disease makes its appearance at the angle 
of the jaw it is in the form of a smooth tumefaction 
or lump, or "bunch." In the early stages this tume- 
faction increases in size, becomes more firm, and 
usually tends to become anchored or fixed to the bone. 
Still later the center becomes necrotic, and the typical 
stringy, marrow-colored pus is discharged. 

If the case is not checked at this time it may pro- 
gress until the bone itself is involved in the disease 
process, and the treatment then becomes difficult. 

When actinomycosis involves the tissues lying be- 
tween the rami of the inferior maxilla we find this 
space completely filled with a mass of dense, appar- 
ently fibrous, tissue. If the disease has existed here 
for some time the enlargement can be seen plainly 
with the animal in the standing position; the under 
side of the jaws between the chin and throat appears 
curved from before backwards with a considerable belly 
towards the bottom. 

After variable periods of time this swelling breaks 
down in one or more places. Usually there are three 
or four openings, and from these escapes actinomycotic 
pus. The pus in this location is not so characteristic, 
being thin and lighter in consistency. 



16 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

Actinomycosis involving the tongue usually does not 
produce noticeable symptoms until it is quite exten- 
sive. When the condition docs attract attention it is 
usually seen that the cow has difficulty in masticating 
her food. The mouth is constantly held partly open 
and saliva is continually dripping from the opening. 
The tongue seems too large for the mouth and when 
the veterinarian examines it he finds that it feels mo \ 
or less solid or " woody. " When the disease has p: 
gressed to this stage it is only a matter of a sin t 
time until the cow finds eating an impossibility and if 
the condition is not properly treated the animal dies 
of inanition. 

The treatment of actinomycosis is very satisfactory 
when the disease has confined itself to soft tissue. 
When it has invaded the dense tissues, bone or car- 
tilage, the treatment -is not so satisfactory. 

In that form which asserts itself in the form of a 
tumor or bunch at or near the angle of the jaw t ie 
treatment begins with incision of the tumor. That 
this may be safely and thoroughly done it is necessary 
to cast the patient. It is almost impossible to so con- 
fine a cow in the standing position that the necessa y 
steps in the treatment can be satisfactorily and safely 
performed. Having cast the patient, the veterinarian 
incises the tumor near the most dependent part, using 
an abscess knife and making the incision not more 
than one inch in length. The incision is carried well 
into the center of the tumor and the interior is then 
thoroughly curetted. This is a painful operation a id 
is best performed under anesthetics. When this has 
been done a gauze or cotton wad, which has been sat- 
urated in a ten per cent solution of chromium triox d, 
is packed firmly into the cavity and the animal is 
allowed to get up. 



ACTINOMYCOSIS 17 

In most cases this completes the local treatment in 
this form of the disease. After a week or ten days the 
entire mass of diseased tissue drops out and leaves but 
little scar. 

The internal treatment in this, as in all other forms 

of actinomycosis, consists of the administration of 

potassium iodid. The result obtained from the use of 

•tassium iodid in this disease is frequently nothing 

•tort of marvelous. The dose is from one to two 

rams three times daily for matured cows, and it is 

to be persisted in until all symptoms of the disease 

have disappeared. If iodism supervenes the drug can 

be discontinued for a few days and then be given 

again. Unless the disease has already involved the 

inferior maxilla a complete recovery may be expected 

in from two to three weeks. 

The treatment of that form which attacks the tissue 
] ring between the rami of the inferior maxilla varies 
from the foregoing only in the local treatment. The 
openings which are present, if any, are merely en- 
iirged slightly with a sharp curette. If there are no 
openings present no attempt is made to produce any 
ly surgical means. The swelling is subjected to no 
further local handling than a daily painting with pure 
tincture of iodin. 

In actinomycosis of the tongue the treatment is eon- 
ijned to the internal administration of the potassium 
iodid. The results in this form are most prompt and 
highly pleasing to both the client and the veterinarian, 
however, unless the treatment is persisted in for a 
sufficient length of time relapses of this form fre- 
quently occur. The treatment should be kept up until 
iodism has been produced at least three or four times; 
only then can a cure be assured. Half dram doses of 



18 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

fluid extract of Phytolacca improve the action of potas- 
sium iodid when given with it in these cases. 

In summing' up the treatment of actinomycosis it 
can be said that even very extensive lesions can be 
controlled and ultimately entirely cured with judicious 
use of potassium iodid. In our own practice we do 
not pay very much attention to the local handling 
even when the actinomycotic growth has assumed 
great proportions. The following case report is an 
example of the effect of potassium iodid in this disease. 

A Jersey cow had an actinomycotic tumor at the angle of the 
jaw extending to and involving the parotid region. It was of 
long standing when it came into our hands, having gone through 
various courses of treatment with home remedies. At the time 
we were called in the cow was barely able to breathe, the tumor 
having involved the trachea and larynx, probably producing 
the dyspnea by pressure. The dyspnea was so distressing that 
a tracheotomy had to be performed. Under treatment improve- 
ment progressed so rapidly that the tube was taken out at the 
end of a week, all signs of dyspnea having disappeared. The 
tumor itself had been reduced to the size of a lemon. 

Another case, illustrating the effect of potassium 

iodid in actinomycosis involving the tissues in the 
space between the rami of the lower jaw may be cited. 

This case occurred in a Holstein calf, six or eight months old. 
The entire space was filled up with the growth and a number 
of openings were discharging typical pus. Examination of the 
interior of the mouth showed the lingual canal pushed up and 
nearly filled in, making the tongue appear as though it were 
crowded against the roof of the mouth. The calf was emaciated 
and stunted in growth. 

The openings were curetted slightly and the calf allowed to 
get up. He was put on a dram of potassium iodid morning and 
evening, and the enlargement painted once or twice daily with 
tincture iodin. In two weeks there was no sign of swelling 
and the calf had improved remarkably in condition. 

To assure a permanent result the potassium iodid was con- 
tinued a week longer and paintings were made occasionally 
with iodin. The calf has developed into a fine bull, is now 
eighteen months old and is entirely free from any sign of the 
trouble. The entire treatment covered about three or four 
weeks ' time. 

It should be mentioned that actinomycosis involving 
the parotid gland is for some reason more difficult to 



EPIZOOTIC KERATITIS 19 

cure than when it involves other soft structures, even 
more stubborn to treat than some of the cases where 
osseous tissue is extensively involved. The treatment 
is the same as that for involvement of other organs 
and tissues. 



EPIZOOTIC KERATITIS 

This is a disease affecting the eyes of cattle which 
occurs from time to time in certain localities. It is 
seen usually during the summer months when the cat- 
tle are on grass. Almost without exception it attacks 
every animal in a herd of cattle which it invades. ^ In 
rare instances a few animals may escape the infection. 
The first attacked in an outbreak usually develop 
the disease in its most severe form ; towards the latter 
part of the epizootic the cases become milder and may 
recover spontaneously. 

The disease affects cattle only. Horses in the same 
pastures with the affected cattle do not develop the 
disease, nor are other animals on the farm affected. 
We recall an instance where a man, who had a herd 
of cows under his care during an outbreak of keratitis 
and who treated the eyes of those affected, contracted 
a mild conjunctivitis. 

In the mild or sub-acute form the symptoms are con- 
fined wholly to the eyes. In the severe form the ani- 
mal shows systemic derangement such as loss of appe- 
tite and a considerable interference with the lacteal 

secretion. 

The first symptom, that the farmer sees, when the 
disease appears in his herd is lachrymation. When the 
cows are brought in from pasture at night he notices 
a few cows with "a running from the eyes." The 



20 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

eyes are only partly open and the lids appear slightly 
swollen. Within twenty-four to forty-eight hours 
nearly every animal in the herd is affected. In those 
that develop the disease in its severe form the lachry- 
mal flow becomes purulent on about the second day. 
The cornea becomes the seat of an ulcer, or several 
of them. In not a few cases the ulceration continues 
until perforation of the cornea results, staphylomata 
appear and the eye is permanently injured. A deposit 
of pus may also be seen along the inferior margin of 
the cornea in the anterior chamber. Permanent cor- 
neal and even lenticular opacities frequently destroy 
the sight. 

In the mild cases the symptoms consist of profuse 
lachrymation, and a considerable degree of photo- 
phobia. This disappears in three or four days under 
treatment, or even without treatment. In the severe 
form from two to three weeks may elapse before the 
disease runs its course, leaving one or both eyes partly 
or wholly blind. 

The treatment of this disease is entirely local, con- 
sisting of antiseptic and astringent solutions and oint- 
ments. 

In the mild form we use one per cent yellow oxid 
of mercury ointment. A small lump of this ointment 
of about the size of a pea, is placed within the lower 
eyelid near the external canthus and the lids pressed 
together a few moments, until the ointment becomes 
warm. It is then distributed over the interior surface 
of the orbit by gentle massaging of the lids and the 
movements of the eye-ball. 

The animals should be kept indoors and the stable 
darkened for a few days. In three to five days re- 
covery is complete. In the severe form, in which the 
discharges from the eyes are purulent in character a 



EPIZOOTIC KERATITIS 21 

solution of zinc sulphate of from two to four per cent 
strength is to be used. It is best applied with a small 
glass syringe having a soft rubber tip. 

With the owner or an attendant holding the cow's 
head, the person giving the treatment draws the lower 
eye-lid away from the globe, by pulling on the lashes ; 
about a teaspoonful of the zinc sulphate solution is 
then squirted into the cup thus formed and the lid 
allowed to return to position. This is repeated three 
times daily until the most acute symptoms have dis- 
appeared. The treatment is then terminated, with 
daily applications of the yellow oxid of mercury oint- 
ment. In complicated cases that develop ulcers on the 
cornea the ulcers should be touched up every other 
day with ten per cent silver nitrate solution, by means 
of a cotton swab on an applicator. Staphylomata that 
occur in the form of sacculated protrusions of the 
iris following perforation of the cornea from ulcer- 
ation, should be snipped off with scissors and then 
cauterized. Before either the cauterization of an ulcer 
or the ablation of the staphyloma is attempted the eye 
should be anesthetized. The simplest and most con- 
venient method of anesthetizing the eye is by placing 
a one grain quinin-urea hydrochlorid tablet between 
the lids, and waiting about twenty minutes for anes- 
thesia to become established. 

Collections of pus in the lower part of the anterior 
chamber of the eye are best ignored. They usually 
become absorbed without producing particular damage. 
Opacities of either the cornea or the lens that remain 
after the inflammation are best treated with iodides 
internally. 

Synechia (adhesions between the iris and cornea 
anteriorly, or the iris and lens posteriorly) can usually 
be prevented by the addition of a few drops of fluid 



22 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

extract of belladonna (or a solution of atropin) to the 
zinc sulphate solution. This will produce mydriasis 
sufficiently to withdraw the iris from the active field 
of the disease. 

Darkened quarters are essential in all cases, because 
of the marked photophobia. The affected cattle should 
be kept out of bright light until recovery is assured. 
Light should be excluded from the stable by means 
of blankets or canvas hung before windows and doors. 
Bandages should not be used with the object of shield- 
ing or protecting the eye. Their use favors ulceration. 



CANCER OF THE EYE 

This condition, sometimes termed fungus hema- 
toids, is decidedly common in cattle. Only one eye 
is affected as a rule, and the condition comes to the 
attention of the veterinarian in various stages, from 
the benign appearing granular growth on the edge of 
the cornea to the immense cauliflower-like growth in- 
volving the entire orbit. 

Most of these cases begin as a small, flat mass of 
granular tissue near the corneo-scleratic margin. The 
mass stands off from the globe quite prominently and 
has the appearance of what is commonly termed 
"proud flesh." This slowly spreads over the surface 
of the eye-ball; in most cases, at first, in a thin, flat 
layer. Later, there is a purulent flow of mucus from 
the affected eye, and the growth begins to assume the 
form of a "bunch," layer after layer of new cells be- 
ing formed. This continues until the growth projects 
outward an inch or more. The tissue is very vascular; 
slight handling or touching in any manner induces 
bleeding. Still later the external surface of the mass 



CANCER OF THE EYE 23 

becomes necrotic, assumes a blackish-gray color and 
constantly exudes serum, pus and shreds of tissue. 

If the disease is not checked the growth continues 
to increase in size, crowding the eye-ball deep into the 
orbit. Nothing of the eye itself can be seen ; the entire 
orbital cavity is filled with the new growth, the lids 
and orbital conjunctiva developing additional new 
growths. 

Finally the lymphatics in the region break down, 
forming enlargements on the side of the head and 
parotid region that open and discharge purulent mat- 
ter. The animal becomes cachectic and finally dies. 

Treatment of cancer of the eye is not very satis- 
factory. If the eye is to be saved the case must be 
submitted to treatment as soon as possible after the 
first layer of granular tissue forms. If the veterinarian 
is able to begin the treatment in this stage he can 
promise his client fairly good results. 

To handle the condition satisfactorily, even at this 
stage, it is usually necessary to cast the cow and pro- 
duce profound anesthesia, without which all attempts 
at worthy treatment are usually converted into bungle- 
some interference. "We make this statement with due 
consideration, following personal experience. 

When the cow has been chloroformed the orbital 
cavity is to be copiously irrigated with a very mild 
bichlorid or chinosol solution. With an eye speculum 
holding the lids apart the layer of cells is very care- 
fully shaved off, care being taken not to injure the 
healthy face of the cornea. 

In this early stage it will be seen that the layer of 
granulation tissue is underlaid with a thin band of 
white connective tissue. This band is apparently the 
foundation of the growth ; it is very intimately con- 
nected to the surface of the cornea. When the soft 



24 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

layer of granular cells has been thoroughly shaved off, 
no attempt should be made to remove the band of 
white tissue just named. We do not disturb this with 
the knife, but submit it to a thorough cauterization 
with a solution of bichlorid of mercury, five grains to 
announce of distilled water. This cauterization is per- 
formed with a very small, firmly rolled cotton swab ; 
it is dipped into the solution until saturated, after 
which most of the solution is squeezed out so that the 
swab is just nicely moist. This is done to prevent any 
superfluous solution from running over the healthy 
cornea. The swab so prepared is held and drawn over 
the entire band of white tissue, using moderate pres- 
sure and repeating the process seven or eight times, 
using a fresh swab each time. When the. swabbing has 
been completed the parts should have a dry, woolly 
appearance. 

The cow is allowed to revive from the chloroform 
and nothing further done for twenty-four hours, at 
the end of which time daily applications of a four per 
cent yellow oxid of mercury ointment are begun, plac- 
ing a small piece of the ointment between the lids only. 
After a week these applications are made every other 
day, until another week has elapsed. They may then 
be discontinued and the case usually con side red cured. 

An opaque area will remain in the vicinity of the 
original lesion. 

When the disease has been allowed to progress until 
Hi ere are several thicknesses of granulation tissue and 
the eye is discharging a muco-pnrulent fluid the above 
treatment is of no avail. If it is demanded that some- 
thing be done the surgeon should advise a complete 
enucleation of the eye and its adnexa. The sooner 
this operation is undertaken the better. We do not 
advise enucleation unless the animal is especially valu- 



AMAUROSIS 25 

able for some reason or other. The operation is not 
always followed by satisfactory results and unless 
I here is an exceptionally good reason for resorting to 
this measure we recommend slaughter in the severe 
forms of this disease. 



AMAUROSIS 

This is nearly always a disease of pregnancy when 
it occurs in cows. In one instance a case occurred in 
our practice as a sequel to parturient paresis. 

The whole symptom complex of amaurosis is blind- 
ness. 

There are no lesions in the eye or in its appendages 
which the examiner can detect ; the organs have a per- 
fectly normal appearance. 

When the disease occurs during the pregnant state 
it begins usually during the last weeks of the period. 
The veterinarian is informed that the cow suddenly 
went blind. Aside from her inability to see, she is 
in good health. 

Amaurosis occurring under these conditions is a 
transient disease, which disappears at parturition or 
very soon thereafter. 

The case occurring in our practice as a sequel to 
parturient paresis persisted for some weeks. Ulti- 
mately a course of potassium iodid terminated the 
case satisfactorily. 

It is very doubtful whether any treatment should 
be at tempted in cases occurring in the latter weeks 
of gestation. Knowing that the condition is entirely 
the result of the pregnancy and that it will correct 
itself spontaneously with the arrival of the calf, we 
can usually serve the patient and our client best by 



26 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

advising against direct interference with the trouble 
by medical means. If the condition should persist 
after the parturition we would advise a course of po- 
tassium iodid internally. 

EPISTAXSIS 

Nasal hemorrhage can occur in cattle as the result 
of injuries and contusions under the same circum- 
stances that it occurs in other animals. 

The particular form of epistaxsis which we will 
discuss here is that form which occurs now and then 
in cows during the period of gestation, and not as the 
result of trauma. 

The cows which are the subjects of a hemorrhage 
of this nature are generally aged cows in somewhat 
unthrifty condition. 

They are most frequently affected during the lat- 
ter period of pregnancy, usually when about four to 
six weeks before calving. The symptoms are pre- 
cipitated by a somewhat profuse flow of blood from 
one or both nostrils, amounting on occasions to sev- 
eral pints. 

The flow stops of its own accord in most cases, after 
a few hours. The cow is off feed for a day or two and 
nothing further of note follows. After five or six 
days, sometimes a week or ten days, the hemorrhage 
recurs, leaving the cow usually in a dejected, weak 
condition. Three or four such hemorrhages may 
occur before the close of gestation, after which they 
do not occur again. Evidently the pregnant state is 
responsible for the condition in some manner, it be- 
ing distinctly a. disease of pregnancy. 

If the hemorrhages are severe enough and recur at 
short intervals, the cow is in poor condition to sur- 



EPISTAXSIS 27 

vive the ordeal of parturition and its probable com- 
plications. The milk output is decidedly curtailed and 
sometimes entirely lacking-. If there should happen 
to be a considerable degree of dystocia, or an infec- 
tion following* on complete or partial retention of the 
secundines, the cow will probably succumb. 

It has been our experience that, where the case 
comes into our hands at the time of the first hemor- 
rhage or soon thereafter, we can carry the cow through 
the period of gestation to an uneventful parturition, 
and prevent recurrence of the hemorrhage. 

Our remedy is iron, and we give it in the form of 
the tincture of ferric chlorid once or twice a day in 
one ounce doses, diluted with water. No further 
bleeding occurs and the cow improves in condition 
promptly. 



HEMORRHAGE FOLLOWING DEHORNING 

Dehorning is now and then followed by persistent 
bleeding, the subjects as a rule being unthrifty young- 
sters. Fatal hemorrhage after dehorning is very rare, 
but we have seen alarming symptoms, a good many 
times, result from prolonged dripping in weakly stock. 

While it is not a very difficult matter to control 
the hemorrhage, the means employed should do as 
little damage as possible. We have frequently seen 
severe catarrhal involvement of the sinuses and nares 
from injudicious treatment of a hemorrhage of this 
kind. 

If the patient is quite young and tractable, the best, 
means for checking the bleeding consists of a wad of 
absorbent cotton and a bandage. The cotton can first 
be saturated with an ordinary antiseptic solution; it 



28 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

is then applied on the horn stump and tightly ban- 
daged in place. If the animal is confined in a stan- 
chion, a rope securely tied across the stanchion up- 
rights can serve the purpose of keeping the head 
raised for an hour or two. The bandage may be left 
in place for ten or fifteen hours,, after which it is cut 
across and allowed to come off of its own accord. 

In other animals, or those which will not submit to 
bandaging, the best effect is obtained from prolonged 
irrigation of the bleeding stump with a very warm 
solution of potassium permanganate not more than 
one per cent strength. Fifteen minutes* of continued 
irrigation with this agent by means of a fountain 
syringe gives good results. The syringe should be 
hung high enough to give considerable force to the 
stream. In all cases the head should be held high by 
means of halters and ropes. 

A hypodermic injection of atropin sulphate, from 
one-fourth to one-half grain, assists materially in 
checking the flow. 

We condemn the use of Monsell's solution and Mon- 
sell's powder in hemorrhages of this nature. When 
the solution is used, sinus and nasal catarrh result 
almost every time; when the powder is used, suppura- 
tion always occurs under the scab around the base 
of the stump. 



WIRE CUTS 29 



WIRE CUTS AND OTHER LACERATED INJURIES 

Space is devoted in this treatise to the above con- 
ditions chiefly with the object of impressing on the 
practitioner the fact that even the most extensive cuts 
and tears unite beautifully with proper suturing. 

This is especially noteworthy when the cuts or lacera- 
tions are in a location where no tendons or articula- 
tions are involved in the trauma. 

Sutures should be set well back from the edges of 
the wound and a heavy, braided silk suture material 
should be used. If care is taken to provide ordinary 
drainage for the wound, the sutures will not tear or 
slough out, but remain in place until healing is com- 
plete. It is well to select a strong needle for the 
purpose and a needle holder is almost indispensable 
because of the extreme toughness of the skin. 

A daily irrigation of the wound with an antiseptic 
solution is all that is necessary as after-treatment. 
Exuberant granulations do not occur. 

Wounds of this nature treated during the warm 
months must be protected from the activities of flies. 
For this purpose we find an excellent and cheap 
preparation in one part oil of cajuput shaken up with 
two parts of olive oil. This is painted around the 
edges of the wound with a small brush or feather 
several times daily. The oil of cajuput alone acts 
very well as a "fly-chaser," but used alone repeat- 
edly it is slightly irritating and evaporates too quickly. 
The olive oil overcomes both of these objections. 

Another satisfactory fly repellent is composed of 
phenol one part; turpentine one part, and olive oil or 
cottonseed oil sixteen parts. 



30 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



ACUTE ARTHRITIS 

Acute arthritis is seen quite frequently in cows. 
The most common seat is the hock. A causative factor 
in its localization in the hock joint is an excessively 
deep gutter, especially of cement construction, in 
dairy barns. 

The symptoms of acute arthritis here are great 
lameness in the affected leg and swelling of the region 
of the hock. This swelling is sharply circumscribed, 
is hot to the touch and very painful on pressure. The 
affected leg is held up in extreme flexion and usually 
spasmodic jerky movements are gone through, very 
much as in the horse. 

The temperature is raised considerably and the cow 
refuses her feed. If the condition is not treated at 
this time, the acute symptoms gradually disappear. 
A hard, firm swelling, osseous in consistency, remains 
in the hock and the muscles on the affected side from 
the hip down, slowly atrophy. Apparently this form 
of arthritis in cows takes the form of what was for- 
merly spoken of as arthritis deformans. Pus forma- 
tion is unknown. 

In my experience the best results in treatment have 
come from blistering. No matter whether the acute 
or sub-acute stage, a good, sharp blister, repeated as 
necessary, gives fairly satisfactory results. While the 
hock usually remains enlarged to some extent, it does 
not seem to cause any trouble later. Some of these 
cases recur at intervals. A tonic should always be 
given in these cases and a box stall provided until 
lameness disappears. When the blister is applied to 
the hock, care must be taken to properly protect the 
udder from the blister. Also when recovery has taken 



FRACTURES 31 

place, defects in the stable at the place where the cow 
stands must be improved so as to prevent a recur- 
rence from the same cause. 



FRACTURES 

While fractures of the bones of the limbs are not 
as common in cattle as in equine subjects, they do 
occur occasionally. 

On general principles it can be said that fractures 
of the legs in cattle condemn the animal to death 
at once. Unless the accident occurs in a very young 
animal or an animal of great value for breeding pur- 
poses, the veterinarian usually serves his client best 
by recommending the destruction of the animal at 
once. There is one possible exception to this: simple 
fracture of the canon bone in an anterior limb. If 
the animal is in good condition in other respects we 
occasionally recommend the treatment of these cases. 
The treatment does not differ from that in other ani- 
mals similarly affected. 

Fractures of the pelvis occur with some frequency 
in cattle and frequently heal without treatment. They 
are of importance chiefly as contributing to subse- 
quent maternal dystokia. 

Fractures of the ribs are also quite frequent in cat- 
tle. Comminuted fractures of ribs in cows usually 
terminuate in necrosis and extensive sloughing and 
abscess formation. The abscesses are to be drained 
and the sequestrse removed. Rarely empyema results. 

Fractures of the phalanges are quite amenable to 
treatment in cattle ; however, they always terminate 
in a permanent lameness and deformity, resembling 
ringbone formations. 



32 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

HYGROMA 

Practically the only seat of a hygroma in cows is the 
anterior face of the carpus, resulting probably from 
bruises contracted in the act of getting up. Again 
some stanchions and mangers are so arranged that 
the cows kneel a great deal of the time while feeding 
and this results in bruising the anterior surface of the 
knees and the formation of hygromas. 

Hygromas in this location have been seen in cattle 
frequently, some of them of immense size. Even small 
hygromas in the region named seriously interfere with 
the movements of the limb and in many cases the cow 
finds it almost impossible to arise when lying down, 
or to assume recumbency when standing. A case 
came to our attention in which the tumor had attained 
the dimensions of a small cocoanut, making it very 
difficult for the animal to get up or to lie down. The 
owner informed us that the cow had to be given 
assistance in getting up ; she would then remain in the 
standing position for several days at a time. 

The treatment of this condition is almost wholly 
surgical. 

With the cow in the recumbent position and the 
affected limb fully extended, a free incision is made 
along the antero-inferior surface of the tumor, carry- 
ing the incision well into the center. When the knife 
penetrates to the center of the tumor, a quantity of 
more or less organized synovia, or even pus, makes 
its escape. 

The cavity in the center of the tumor is then in- 
jected with several ounces of pure tincture of iodin, 
allowing it to remain for a minute or two. It is then 
flushed out with sterile water until the water returns 
clear. 



HYGROMA 33 

A wad of cotton or strip of gauze saturated with 
equal parts of oleum lini and turpentine is then packed 
snugly into the cavity, allowing a small portion of 
the packing to protrude from the wound. This pack- 
ing is to he renewed every twenty-four hours, and 
the external surface of the tumor is to he painted 
daily with tincture of iodin. 

At the end of ten days or two weeks the tumor will 
have decreased to such an extent that interference 
with the movements of the limb will be abolished. It 
it is desired that the entire growth disappear, the 
incision can be renewed and the treatment persisted 
in for another week or two. The iodin applications 
externally can be kept up alone somewhat longer. 

If for any reason, it is desired that the size ot 
the hygroma be reduced more quickly, the injection 
of fibrolysin, as recommended in "Special Veterinary 
Therapy" (page 12), will accomplish the object very 

satisfactorily. . 

As the daily removal and insertion of the packing 
in the foregoing treatment must usually be left to the 
owners or the attendants, they should he thoroughly 
instructed in observing the most regular antiseptic pre- 
cautions. If this is ignored, grave infections may 
occur and result in the death of the cow. 



34 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



INGESTED FOREIGN BODIES 

Under this head we will discuss those conditions 
which occasionally develop in cattle from swallowing 
hard substances, such as pieces of iron, wire, nails, 
hairpins, and similar objects. 

The habit of ingesting foreign material such as that 
described above seems to be a normal one in cattle. 
Nearly all cattle examined postmortem are found to 
contain in the rumen and other parts of the alimen- 
tary tract numbers of such objects. Apparently they 
rarely do harm; at least they ordinarily give no sign 
of their presence during the life of the animal. 

Under certain conditions, however, the ingestion of 
hard foreign objects produces results which are quite 
serious and frequently fatal. 

In such cases the offending object is usually of iron, 
steel or wire in the form of elongated pieces with a 
pointed extremity. It may be that the sharp end of 
the object becomes lodged between folds of mucous 
membrane, or that it enters the v mouth of the ducts of 
some gland. The peristaltic movements and contrac- 
tions assist in implanting or embedding the object to 
such a degree that it remains lodged. Necrosis at the 
point of lodgement occurs and the object penetrates 
into the peritoneal cavity or into contiguous organs 
such as the liver, spleen, through the diaphragm and 
the heart or lungs. 

Nails, pieces of baling wire, and similar objects, 
have been found on postmortem examination in almost 
all organs, not excepting the heart, and in many in- 
stances the animal suffered no ill effects apparent to 
the eye during . its lifetime ; although in some cases 
the object had traversed the length of the abdominal 



INGESTED FOREIGN BODIES 35 

and thoracic cavities before it became permanently 
located. 

In other cases which have been reported by veteri- 
narians similar objects have sloughed through the 
abdominal wall and made their appearance and es- 
cape from the body, the cow suffering no particular 
ill effects. 

In many cases, however, serious damage is done and 
grave consequences, or even death, may result from 
the passage of foreign bodies through, or into, the 
abdominal cavity and other organs. 

Death may be caused in such cases by the direct 
presence of* the object interfering with the proper 
performance of function in an organ; by inflamma- 
tory or necrotic processes developing in the region of 
the object; and by secondary pathological conditions 
occurring as the result of damage done by the object. 

The diagnosis of abnormal conditions produced by 
the emigration of foreign bodies is not easy. With 
very few exceptions, the diagnosis can be made cer- 
tain only on postmortem examination. If laparotomy 
w T ere more practical in cattle it might on certain occa- 
sions be resorted to in the diagnoses of conditions in 
which foreign bodies are suspected. Dr. John K. Boss- 
hardt, of Camden, N. Y., has performed a consider- 
able number of successful laparotomies in cattle for 
intestinal invagination. For him it is from all appear- 
ances an ordinary proceeding. The average veteri- 
narian, however, as a rule does not transgress to any 
great extent on the abdominal viscera in a surgical 
manner. We rely for diagnostic purposes chiefly on 
our powers of observation, on our sense of touch, and 
other ordinary means. 

The symptoms produced by foreign bodies which 
leave the intestinal or alimentary tract vary, of course. 



36 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

with the extent of the lesions produced, and the or- 
gans involved. 

The usual history iri cases due to the action of for- 
eign bodies is that the cow has been suffering from 
inappetence for a long time. For weeks she has not 
been a hearty eater and she looks unthrifty. At 
times she has had the appearance of a cow suffering 
dull pains; she stands almost immovable for hours. 
The expression of the countenance is that described 
as "haggard" or "anxious"; she frequently grinds 
her teeth. At other times she has had slightly colicky 
pains. This covers the general initial symptoms in 
all cases. Now come special symptoms, varying from 
now on with the course pursued by the object in its 
movement within the body. 

When the object penetrates and severely injures 
the peritoneum, the special symptoms are those of 
peritonitis, with possibly perforation of the abdominal 
wall and the liberation of the object. 

When the liver has been injured seriously by the 
object the symptoms do not vary from those occur- 
ring when the object injures the heart. We find in 
either instance a set of symptoms which duplicate 
almost entirely those symptoms seen in infection with 
Distoma hepaticum. The symptoms due to foreign 
bodies, however, develop more gradually and persist 
for a greater length of time. Another point of dif- 
ferentiation lies in the color of the fluid in the drop- 
sical swellings; that found in cases of infection with 
the liver fluke is clear as water. The fluid contained 
in the dropsical swellings caused by injuries to the 
liver and heart from foreign bodies is either yellowish 
or tinged with blood. Also, in the latter cases, the 
hide does not peel off as in liver rot. 



INGESTED FOREIGN BODIES 37 

When a foreign body damages the lung tissue or 
becomes lodged therein, the symptoms are either those 
of pulmonary gangrene or of pulmonary tuberculosis; 
the former when the object is en route through the 
lung tissue, the latter when it has lodged there per- 
manently. 

An exact diagnosis can hardly ever be made with 
assurance. The diagnosis can be made with reason- 
able certainty when either the liver or the heart is 
involved. 

The treatment of conditions produced by foreign 
bodies which have been swallowed and then go through 
a period of wandering about in the body cavities can 
only be symptomatic and expectant. If the veteri- 
narian can be reasonably certain that the object is in 
a portion of the peritoneal cavity where it can be 
reached and safely removed through laparotomy, he 
would be justified in undertaking the operation. 

In all other locations the symptoms can only be 
treated as they arise. 



38 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



THUROW'S DISEASE 

Thurow's disease is a condition which is seen now 
and then in cattle and presents itself in the form of 
a distention of the subcutaneous tissues with gas. It 
is always a hyper-acute condition and at times accom- 
panied by most alarming manifestations. 

Thurow's disease most frequently affects cows at the 
height of the milking period, and apparently the na- 
ture of the feed has no bearing on the disease. It has 
been seen in cows on pasture as well as in cows sta- 
bled and fed only dry feed. 

The symptoms of this disease are always the same 
and, in our experience, the disease never appears in 
an atypical form. The history, course and termina- 
tion are the same in practically every case. 

The cow stops eating suddenly, sometimes abruptly, 
so that the last mouthful of feed is held between the 
lips. The animal seems terribly distressed almost in- 
stantly and stands immovable. Breathing becomes 
rapid and labored; salivation and lachrymation be- 
come marked. Defecation and micturition seem to be 
performed involuntarily or spontaneously. The ani- 
mal trembles markedly and soon begins to shift her 
weight from one leg to the other repeatedly. While 
the observer is looking on he sees the cow growing in 
size ; the distention is not confined to any particular 
region but seems to be general. The sides of the neck, 
shoulders, thorax, flanks, hips, thighs, udder — in fact, 
the entire integument — seems to undergo inflation. 

This distention takes place so rapidly that in the 
course of a half hour the animal bears but Hi tie 
resemblance to a cow. 

If death does not supervene in the course of an 
hour or two, the swelling begins to recede; in the 



THUROW'S DISEASE 39 

course of another hour, every trace of it will have 
disappeared, and the cow, aside from appearing some- 
what "dopey," will be apparently none the worse 
for the experience. In most cases the attack will have 
run its course by the time the veterinarian arrives. 

Our experience records no deaths from Thurow's dis- 
ease ; two cases which occurred in our practice re- 
cently, within a few weeks of each other, recovered 
within an hour or two. Where we arrive early enough 
to attend the cow in the attack we refrain from ad- 
ministering any medicinal treament if we observe 
that the condition is beginning to correct itself. 

Should the condition be in the ascendency when we 
arrive, we administer intestinal antiseptics, such as 
salol, sulpho-carbolates, or permanganate of potas- 
sium. Stimulants, such as aromatic spirits of ammo- 
nia, also seem to benefit. 

There appear to be no sequelae to this disease ; the 
cow resumes feeding the same day, and aside from a 
moderate diminution in the milk output for a day or 
two, no bad results follow. 



40 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



TYMPANITES 

By the term tympanites in cattle is understood, as 
a general rule, the distention of the rumen with gas 
as an acute condition or clinical entity. 

Tympanites frequently becomes fully established 
within a few minutes to an hour after the ingestion 
of certain feeds, such as clover or alfalfa. When it 
results from the ingestion of dry feed it develops 
more slowly and usually does not assume such serious 
proportions. 

Tympanites resulting from the ingestion of green 
food may progress so rapidly as to cause death from 
suffocation within ten to twenty minutes. 

The symptoms of tympanites are always the same 
and leave no room for doubt in diagnosis. 

"When the veterinarian arrives he usually finds the 
cow gasping for breath, the mouth wide open, and 
the tongue protruding. The left flank is immensely 
distended and the cow constantly shifts her weight 
from one hind leg to the other. Some cases are ac- 
companied by vomition. Apparently the sensation 
endured by the cow is more one of distress than of 
acute pain. Only occasionally does a cow show signs 
of acute pain with tympanites. 

The treatment of tympanites is both surgical and 
medicinal. 

The surgical end of the treatment consists of tap- 
ping the rumen with a large trocar and canula, 
thereby permitting the escape of the gas. The rule 
in our practice calling for tapping is the opening of 
the mouth. 

Although the cow may be immensely bloated, we 
do not resort to the trocar unless the cow is so dis- 



TYMPANITES 41 

tressed that she opens her mouth in the attempt to 
breathe. As long as she keeps her mouth closed, 
breathing through the nose, we find that we are able 
to give relief by medicinal means alone. 

In those cases in which the cow breathes only spar- 
ingly, with mouth agape and tongue protruding, no 
time should be lost in performing the tapping opera- 
tion. A large cattle trocar should always be used, 
forcing it into the distended rumen slightly below the 
middle of the most prominent point in the triangle 
formed by the last rib, lumbar vertebrae and external 
angle of the ilium, causing the instrument to take 
the direction of "inward, downward, and slightly for- 
ward." 

Ordinarily no time is wasted in cleaning up the 
seat of operation. 

The veterinarian's trocar should be in a surgically 
clean condition always, so that he may not be required 
to choose between two alternatives : one, that of en- 
dangering the life of the cow by postponing the 
operation until he can sterilize his trocar; the other, 
that of jeopardizing the ultimate smooth result of the 
operation by taking a chance on infection resulting 
from tapping the animal with a dirty trocar. 

In passing or entering the trocar the veterinarian 
should assume such a position that he may avoid being 
kicked by the cow. Many cows will make a fairly 
good attempt at reaching the doctor with a hind foot 
when the trocar is forced in, although they are to 
all appearances near collapse from suffocation. This 
point is one of the reasons that we say the cow 
evidently does not suffer greatly from pain in this con- 
dition. Were the animal's distressed condition the re- 
sult of extreme pain, the entrance of the trocar would 
probably not be noticed. 



42 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

When the instrument has been entered the trocar 
is pulled out of the canula at once, allowing gas and 
food particles to spurt out. It is well to stand to 
one side when this is done, because frequently fluids 
are forced out far enough to soil the surgeon's clothes. 
When portions of ingesta block the lumen of the can- 
ula, the trocar is passed in and out a few times to 
dislodge them. 

If proper medicinal treatment is at hand so that 
it can be at once administered, the canula may be 
withdrawn as soon as the distention has gone down. 
If it is not convenient to administer correct medicinal 
treatment at once, the canula should be left in place 
until all danger of a renewal of the gas distention 
is past, if necessary for several hours. During this 
time some one should remain in attendance for the 
purpose of keeping the canula free from blocking with 
food. 

When the canula is to be removed, the trocar should 
first be passed into it, removing the trocar and canula 
together with one or two quick jerks. The point of 
entrance should be given a thorough application of 
tincture of iodin. 

Administration of medicaments through the canula 
for the abatement of the fermentive process in the 
rumen we have found wholly unsatisfactory. In the 
medicinal treatment of this condition we have ob- 
tained the best, most prompt, and most satisfactorily 
uniform results from four ounces each of aromatic 
spirits of ammonia and oil of turpentine, administered 
m a pint or two of water in the form of a drench. 
Credit for this treatment belongs to Dr. J. M. Wright, 
formerly of Chicago but now retired. Even severely 
grave attacks of tympanites yield almost instantly to 
one such dose. In a period of practice covering more 



TYMPANITES 43 

than ten years we can not recall more than two or 
three cases requiring the second dose. 

Potassium permanganate takes second place in the 
medical treatment of tympanites. One dram dissolved 
in a quart of water and given as a drench will ter- 
minate ordinary cases favorably in a few minutes. 

Complete abstinence from all food for at least twelve 
hours should be the rule after an attack of tympa- 
nites of moderate severity, and for twenty-four hours 
after an attack requiring tapping. 

Abscess formation is an occasional sequel to tap- 
ping for tympanites. Proper drainage by surgical in- 
cision effects prompt recovery if treatment is com- 
menced promptly. 



SURFEIT IN FAMILY COWS 

One of the pathological phenomena which attacks 
the family cow is a condition which merits some 
space in any treatise on cattle diseases, although it is 
a very benign and transient trouble if properly han- 
dled. This condition is over-feeding. 

Most veterinarians have a few clients in town who 
keep a cow; also, most veterinarians have no love for 
the family cow. Some of the most obscure, atypical 
diseased conditions can be seen in the family cow, 
and, as a patient, the family-town-cow is in a class 
by herself. 

Surfeit is of frequent occurrence in these patients, 
and presents such variable clinical aspects that the 
symptoms are difficult to tabulate. In our practice 
we have formed the habit of diagnosing as surfeit all 
irregular or atypical conditions in town cows and treat- 
ing them as such; at least, until something definite 



44 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

can be made out. And in most instances we are not 
deceived. 

A list of the variable quantities and varieties of 
feeds which are thrown to the family cow would 
be a very long one. We have known of family cows 
that received regularly the meat scraps from the table 
and apparently relished them; this, of course, in addi- 
tion to the usual grain and hay ration. 

Only a few days ago we had under our care a fam- 
ily cow that is now sixteen years old and has never 
been given a drink of clear water; bran slops are as 
near a drink of water as she ever gets. Nearly every 
veterinarian knows of equally odd instances. It i?» 
chiefly for this reason that we say the veterinarian, 
in most cases, will not be greatly in error when he 
attributes most of the obscure, irregular attacks of in- 
disposition in the family cow to errors in feeding : first, 
excessive feeding, and second, injudicious foods. 

Complete abstinence from all feed for from twelve 
to twenty-four hours, with a moderate dose of saline 
physic, or a few doses of intestinal antiseptics, are 
usually sufficient to straighten the case out. 

In regard to the matter of complete abstinence from 
all feed, the veterinarian must be firm and emphatic. 
Many family cows are the idol of the family they 
supply with milk, and often it is no easy task to carry 
out the starvation treatment. 



PERSISTENT ANOREXIA 45 



PERSISTENT ANOREXIA 

This seems perhaps an odd name. Anorexia or lack 
of appetite usually is only one of the symptoms of a 
disease. In the condition I am about to speak of, 
anorexia is the whole disease and the whole symptom- 
atology. 

These are aggravating cases for the veterinarian. 
To the owner the case appears very simple ; the cow 
"just won't eat anything." Nothing else of an ab- 
normal nature can be seen. Cases have been reported 
in which the inappetence or anorexia persisted for two 
weeks without any evidence of other disease or a sign 
upon which to base a diagnosis. 

In my own experience I have never been able to 
make a definite diagnosis in these cases, and other 
experienced practitioners with whom I have discussed 
this subject make the same confession. The cow 
simply (and merely, and only, and every other which 
way) won't eat. That is all. Examine her as care- 
fully and as thoroughly as you can and you disclose 
absolutely nothing else which will help you in diag- 
nosis. For this reason I know of no better name for 
the condition than that of "persistent anorexia." 

Because the loss of appetite is the only symptom, 
the owner usually does not call the veterinarian in 
until the case lias been running along two or three 
days. In any other disease than a case of persistent 
anorexia the cow would have developed more or less 
positive signs pointing to the nature of the trouble 
in such a period of time. In persistent anorexia, how- 
ever, nothing has developed. The owner tells you she 
has not eaten for so and so long and she won't eat 
now. "When you get through with your examination, 



46 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

you know no more; first, last, and all the time, "she 
simply won't eat." 

The prognosis must be very guarded. The cow may 
begin to eat again very shortly after you have pre- 
scribed for her, and then again she may not come 
back to feeding for a week or more. 

In my practice I have tried many different rem- 
edies for this condition. Until we discover the cause 
or the nature of this ailment, our treatment will be 
more or less empirical, and to my knowledge the 
pathology in persistent anorexia has never been ex- 
plained. My best results have come from agents acid 
in reaction; lately, I use dilute acetic acid, giving two 
ounces morning and evening for two or three days, 
with an equal amount of water. 



PICA 

This name has been given to a diseased condition 
affecting cattle that is characterized chiefly by a de- 
praved appetite. 

It is doubtful whether pica is in itself a disease. 
It is highly probable that it is only a symptom of 
certain pathological changes which are the result of 
disturbance in certain metabolic processes. 

The habit of ingesting indigestible objects can al- 
most be said to be normal in cattle. Therefore, it 
would appear that an exaggeration of this habit could 
be easily induced under conditions which would have 
a tendency to disturb the anabolic equilibrium; such 
conditions, for instance, as might be induced by an 
unbalanced ration. 

Pica is a condition which affects the family cow most 
frequently; it is only rarely seen in herd animals. 



PICA 47 

There are practically no other symptoms beside the 
depraved appetite. 

The cow seems to have a craving for roughness, 
such as pieces of leather, rags, crockery, mortar, pieces 
of wood, metal, dirt, and so forth. She picks these 
objects up and apparently has a relish for them, 
frequently ignoring good feed for the sake of chewing 
up and swallowing an old shoe. She does this not 
only occasionally and casually, as all cows do nor- 
mally, but ravenously and persistently and contin- 
ually. In very aggravated cases the animal's coat 
lacks gloss, and constipation may be present. If not 
properly treated, some cases of pica persist indefi- 
nitely, the cow gets poor in condition and may de- 
velop a variety of conditions. In other instances, pica 
is a very transient condition, which disappears in a 
few days after it begins to attract attention. 

The treatment of this affection begins with an in- 
vestigation of the ration fed. The condition can usually 
be promptly terminated with the inauguration of 
measures assuring a properly balanced ration. 

In other instances, free access to an unlimited sup- 
ply of salt is all that is necessary. 

In cases which occur under good feeding conditions 
and in which salt treatment fails to correct the trou- 
ble, the cow is given a saline purgative. When the 
purgative has acted, two or three drams of resublimod 
iodin is given in a capsule. Nothing further is re- 
quired as a rule. After a prolonged siege of pica it is 
always a good plan to examine the cow's mouth for 
injuries, lacerations or ulcerations, and varying de- 
grees of stomatitis. The prehension, mastication and 
deglutition of the various objects which the cow 
chooses to select not infrequently produce injuries in 
the mouth which later prevent the eating of regular feeds. 



48 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



IMPACTION OF THE RUMEN IN COWS 

In this article we will consider (1) some of the 
more prominent or diagnostic symptoms, and (2) the 
medical treatment of impaction of the rumen. 

We will ignore the surgical treatment in this 
treatise. 

Unless the young graduate has served his appren- 
ticeship in a locality where this condition occurs fre- 
quently, and unless his preceptor has given him the 
opportunity to become familiar with its symptoms and 
handling, he will find it a more or less troublesome 
condition in more ways than one. In diagnosis it 
offers difficulties because the symptoms are by no 
means true to type in every case. They vary accord- 
ing to the completeness or severity of the stasis. 

In treatment this condition presents difficulties also. 
Usually the beginner resorts to measures which are too 
heroic ; he attempts to do too much. Instead of aiming 
to give just the correct degree of assistance, he usually 
overdoes his part. 

In beginning the consideration of the more impor- 
tant symptoms I would mention the "grunt." When- 
ever impaction of the rumen is severe enough to at- 
tract attention, the cow grunts. I can not find a better 
word for this than grunt, although in the very grave 
cnses this grunt becomes almost a moan. The grunt 
is synchronous with the respirations and is not quite 
constant in the milder cases. I mean by this that it 
appears intermittently; you hear it once or twice and 
then a few respiratory acts are gone through without 
the accompanying grunt. In the grave cases the grunt 
comes with every breath and is loud enough to be 
heard quite a distance. I repeat, if the case before 



IMPACTION OF THE RUMEN 49 

you is one of rumen impaction, you will hear this 
grunt, either intermittently or regularly. 

A second symptom which, if present with the grunt, 
clinches the diagnosis is the deviation to the left of 
the spinal column. Possibly it would be better to say 
the apparent deviation to the left. Standing squarely 
behind the cow, it appears to the eye as though the 
spinal column forms a curve to the left and upwards 
in the lumbar region. This is so marked that the 
farmer sometimes calls attention to it before you no- 
tice it, saying, "She stands humped up to one side." 
The more complete and extensive the impaction, the 
more marked is this symptom. You may be called to 
cases in which the grunt is heard from other causes, 
and you may be called to cases which show this lateral 
deviation of the spine from other causes. But, when- 
ever you get a case of impaction of the rumen, you 
will hear this "grunt"; and whenever you hear this 
grunt and also see this deviation of the spinal column 
to the left and upwards in the same cow, you can stake 
your professional reputation on the diagnosis of impac- 
tion of the rumen. 

The absence or the presence of peristaltic sounds are 
not diagnostic. Even in some quite grave cases of 
impaction, you will hear some such sounds if you have 
a good ear and apply it over the rumen for a suffi- 
cient length of time. The* cardinal symptoms are the 
grunt and the curve in the spine. When you have 
made these out, you can satisfy your desire for fur- 
ther confirmation of the correctness of your diagnosis 
by noting the tension of the mass in the rumen, the 
evidence of ileus, absence of eructations and regurgita- 
tions, and so on. If the case is mild, the tempera- 
ture is not far from normal; in a well marked case 
it usually stands around 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Good 



50 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

appetite or the other extreme, anorexia, are of no 
value in diagnosis here. Some cows in this condition 
will eat well until the case assumes a really grave 
character. Defecation, while usually scant, is not al- 
ways entirely absent. 

Now for the treatment. The first thing, and always 
the first thing, is to strictly forbid feeding. Not a 
sprig or a grain must be allowed until rumination is 
again fully established. This may mean a day or two, 
or it may mean four or five days without food of any 
kind. Water may be given freely. In these cases I 
see to it that before I leave the place every bit of 
feed has been taken out of the manger and matters 
so arranged that the patient cannot reach food thrown 
to cows standing near her. For us, this complete ab- 
stinence from food constitutes seventy-five per cent of 
the treatment. The balance consists of plenty of water 
and repeated small doses of fluid extract of mix vomica 
with either salol or sulpho-carbolates compound. I 
prefer salol. The mix is given in half-dram doses every 
three hours; the salol is given with it in dram doses. 
This is kept up until peristalsis is growing marked and 
there are occasional eructations and signs of rumina- 
tion. In a well marked case it may take three or 
four days to get this far. Then I give a large dose 
of oil, such as castor, linseed or cottonseed, containing 
an ounce or two of a volatile, carminative oil, such as 
cajuput. 

The usual "salts" have no place in the treatment 
of this impaction. When the bowel movements are 
again fully established and rumination is resumed, 
small quantities of feed may be permitted, gradually 
returning to the accustomed ration. 

I can recommend the foregoing treatment as the 
safest treatment for this impaction ; it is slow but 



COLIC 51 

sure. There are forms of treatment aimed at quicker 
results, but they are not always safe. Even in veter- 
inary practice the motto is "Safety First." 



i COLIC 

For various reasons colics do not occur so frequently 
in cows as in horses. Colic in the cow is probably 
always a true colic. In horses, "colic" covers a mul- 
titude of pathological conditions, at least, in the com- 
mon sense of the term. 

The symptoms of colic in the cow are quite acute 
and sometimes they may assume even a violent char- 
acter. The condition usually begins with the animal 
striking at the abdomen with the hind legs and with 
kicking and stamping with the hind legs. If in the 
stanchion, the cow moves backward and forward, 
crowds to one side and then to the other, and occa- 
sionally throws herself down, groaning w r hen down. 
At times a slight bloat is present, but usually none. 

If no flatulence is present, a hypodermic injection 
of morphin, from four to six grains, with a quarter 
or a half grain of atropin, will end the trouble 
promptly. If there are some signs of flatulence, a 
drench of some internal antiseptic solution is given in 
conjunction w T ith the morphin and atropin. 



52 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



OBSCURE ABDOMINAL AILMENTS 

There occur in cattle a number of indefinite, obscure 
disease conditions which affect the alimentary tract 
and which invariably defy diagnosis of an exact char- 
acter. In many of these cases the most sincere, thor- 
ough and skilled practitioner is unable to make a diag- 
nosis which he could uphold by the symptoms and 
clinical findings. 

The general clinical picture points to some derange- 
ment of the alimentary tract ; yet, there ar^ not suffi- 
ciently clear signs to warrant a reasonably specific 
diagnosis. 

Cases of this kind are at times the cause of con- 
siderable embarrassment to the young practitioner. If 
he will remember that old and experienced practi- 
tioners are as much "at sea" with these cases as he, 
it may make the battle a bit more pleasant for him. 

The cases under discussion appear somewhat in the 
following form : 

The cow has been "off feed" for a few days; she 
has not quit eating entirely, but she "don't eat like 
she ought to." She has a somewhat "glum" expres- 
sion of the face, and once in a while she grinds her 
teeth, hardly often enough to attract attention, how- 
ever. 

She is neither "full" nor bloated, nor is she drawn; 
occasionally, if she is observed for a long time, she 
seems to tense the abdominal muscles just a trifle. 
The evacuations are good enough to be termed nor- 
mal. The temperature is also normal. Auscultation 
brings out nothing of an abnormal character in either 
body cavity. In some cases there is just a trace of 
tenderness shown by pressure on the lower abdominal 



OBSCURE ABDOMINAL CONDITIONS 53 

wall. These are all the symptoms that can be dug 
out of the case; and even these are not always very 
plain at first. 

Our treatment for these cases begins with a good 
mustard plaster over the entire abdominal wall. 

The balance of the treatment consists of a few doses 
of some intestinal cleanser such as triple sulpho-carbo- 
lates or salol, in conjunction with ounce doses of fluid 
extract of cascara sagrada. Three or four doses two 
hours apart are usually sufficient. 

Absolutely no feed of any kind is allowed while the 
treatment is being given. Water is permitted freely. 
When the course of treatment has been fully admin- 
istered, feeding may be resumed. This should be 
done gradually, however, giving not more than half 
a feed the first few times. 

Most of these cases occur during the winter months 
when the cattle are housed. Only in one or two in- 
stances have we seen this condition during the sum- 
mer time. 



INFECTION WITH DISTOMA HEPATICUM 

Infection with Distoma or Fasciola hepaticum pro- 
duces a disease commonly termed "liver rot." It is 
seen only in cattle that have had access to lowlands, 
river bottoms, sloughs and marshes, and then chiefly 
in the South. 

The disease runs a very slow course and usually is 
not recognized until it has reached what is known 
as the third stage, when its manifestations are quite 
evident. 

Almost the first symptom to attract attention is an 
edematous swelling below and between the inferior 



54 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

maxilla. This swelling- runs from the chin to the 
throat and may hang downward three or four inches. 
It has the feeling of being full of w T ater, is loose and 
squashy, and can be compressed and moved about in 
all directions. If it is incised the contents are found 
to be a thin fluid, colorless and clear as crystal, with 
a sweetish acid odor. This odor is very faint, but is 
easily detected if some of the fluid is permitted to dry 
and evaporate in the hand. 

At this time the cow refuses to eat heartily, and con- 
stipation is present. Within two to four days, some- 
times a week, the dropsical swelling extends down the 
front of the trachea and an immense swelling locates 
itself between the forelegs. This slowly moves back- 
ward along the under side of the abdomen, and later 
the hind extremities are also swollen. Ascites usually 
develops and a severe form of dysentery is now raging. 
There is a severe dyspnea and the cow maintains 
the standing position for days. If death does not 
occur at this point the dropsical swellings slowly de- 
crease in size, the cow begins to eat a little, the dys- 
entery is checked and recovery comes at the end of 
three weeks or so. As the dropsical swellings leave, 
the skin over them assumes a dry, tanned appearance 
and peels off in rolls, somewhat of the nature of the 
shedding of skin which follows some cases of purpura 
hemorrhagica in horses. 

The cow emerges from an attack of this condition 
greatly emaciated and rarely regains her former con- 
dition of health and strength. 

When proper treatment is instituted early in the 
attack, however, the course of the disease can be 
considerably shortened and the cow returned to rea- 
sonably good condition. 



INFECTION WITH DISTOMA HEPATICUM 55 

If the veterinarian is called in when the dropsical 
swelling is confined to the region of the jaw and has 
had enough experience with the disease so that he rec- 
ognizes the condition, he can give reasonable assur- 
ance that the cow will survive in good condition at 
the end of two or three weeks. 

In localities in which this disease occurs quite regu- 
larly a dropsical swelling under the jaw should al- 
ways excite suspicion of this disease. If there is in- 
appetence and constipation at the same time with a 
slight elevation of temperature, we incise the swell- 
ing. If the contents are clear and watery and have 
the characteristic sweet-acid odor, it is safe to diag- 
nose infection with Fasciola hepaticum. 

In occasional cases it may be possible to determine 
distinct tenderness in the right flank and right an- 
terior quadrant of the abdomen. Another early symp- 
tom is frequent shifting or changing of the front 
limbs: the cow flexes one knee and then the other, 

off and on. 

The treatment which we have used with very good 
results in this disease is somewhat troublesome, but 
this should not deter one from adopting it, especially 
if the cow affected is a valuable animal. 

We begin with incision of the dropsical swellings, 
making the openings where the fluid will drain out 
freely and where the wound will not do other dam- 
age. The incisions should be quite extensive, so as to 
assure constant leakage from them. One or two in- 
cisions properly located in the swellings will exude 
several gallons of fluid in the course of twenty-four 

hours. 

The medicinal treatment consists of Fowler's solu- 
tion of arsenic and iodid of potassium given at the 
same time. We give an ounce of Fowler's solution 



56 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

in the morning; an hour later we give two drams of 
potassium iodid in aqueous solution. At noon an- 
other ounce of Fowler's solution and an hour later 
another two-dram dose of the iodid. The same is 
done at night. This performance is kept up for a 
week or ten days; the swellings are usually disap- 
pearing by this time and the general aspect of the 
case is favorable in appearance. For a few days 
from now on the Fowler's solution and potassium 
iodid are given only at noon, and the morning and 
evening medication now consists of tonics; nux vom- 
ica, gentian ; iron and quinin with strychnin ; or 
other tonics with w r hich the attending veterinarian is 
familiar. When four or five days have passed in this 
manner the Fowler's solution and potassium iodid are 
discontinued altogether, and the tonics alone are kept 
up for a few days more. 

The cow should be stabled for such time until she 
is again in good condition, when she may be turned 
on grass. Most cases occur in spring; good grazing 
after an attack aids materially in building the cow up. 



ENZOOTIC DYSENTERY 

This is an infectious form of dysentery which af- 
fects cattle in the northern half of the United States, 
being most common in the north central states. 

The disease makes its appearance in the winter 
months and in early spring. It seldom covers large 
areas; usually only a township or two is invaded. 

Animals of all ages are attacked; sex, condition, and 
breed exert no influence on the disease. It affects 
sucking calves and aged cows, as well. A character- 
istic trait of this disease is the fact that in nearly 



ENZOOTIC DYSENTERY 57 

every instance it attacks every cow, calf and bull on 
the premises; only in rare instances do any mem- 
bers of the herd escape the infection. To the veter- 
inarian who has had no experience with this disease 
this peculiarity usually leads him to assume that the 
cause of the outbreak can be attributed to food con- 
tamination. That he is mistaken in this assumption 
he discovers later when he finds the disease on other 
farms, sometimes miles away, where entirely different 
feeds and water, and entirely different methods of 
feeding and watering are used. 

In many instances it is no difficult matter to trace 
the infection carrier, from one farm to another, in 
the person of visitors, stock-buyers or others. 

In other respects, also, the disease has the ear- 
marks of an infectious disease; the symptoms are al- 
ways the same, the color of the feces is always the 
same, and the course of the attack varies but slightly 
in any instance. Another point indicating an infec- 
tious character in this disease is the fact that towards 
the latter part of an outbreak the cases are milder; 
this is characteristic of many epidemic and epizootic 
diseases. 

Enzootic dysentery is serious because it runs a rath- 
er slow course, during which the secretion of milk is 
almost entirely stopped. We recall an instance in 
which a herd of fifteen cows altogether gave less than 
an ordinary milk pail full of milk at one milking. 
Deaths occur but rarely; in two outbreaks we remem- 
ber but a single death in each, although hundreds of 
cows were affected. 

The symptoms of enzootic dysentery can not be 
mistaken easily for those of other forms of dysentery. 
The attack begins on a farm, usually, with one or two 
cases. A cow refuses her feed and it is seen that she 



58 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

is suffering from a form of scours. Even on the same 
day another cow or two quit eating and begin to 
scour; the next day a few more, and so on, until the 
entire herd is affected. We know of no instance in 
which the animals were all attacked on one day ; a 
herd of twenty head may consume a week's time in 
contracting the disease. The feces have a character- 
istic appearance and color. They are not watery, 
but have a mushy or granular appearance ; the color 
is a rich chocolate shade, sometimes (just barely) 
more towards a red shade. There is no abnormal 
odor. 

In most cases the cows refuse to eat while the 
diarrhea persists, which may be from three days to 
a week or ten days; they drink water freely, even to 
excess, if permitted to do so. 

The temperature is raised from one to three de- 
grees. 

After two or three days from the b^ginning of the 
attack the animals develop a cough. In some of the 
later cases the cough may be present from the start ; 
mucous rales can then be heard in the trachea and 
lungs. Also, about at this time, there appear spasms 
of certain muscle groups; these spasms are tonic in 
character and most frequently affect the posterior 
limbs. 

The milk flow is almost entirely absent ; the animals 
lose flesh rapidly. A herd of dairy cows just emerg- 
ing from an attack of enzootic dysentery is a sorry 
spectacle to behold. 

The animals recover irregularly in a given herd, by 
ones and twos, but not generally in the same order 
in which they were attacked; frequently the cows 
first affected are the last to recover. In a large herd 
a month may elapse before the entire herd is free 
from the disease. 



ENZOOTIC DYSENTERY 59 

As far as our observations go, one attack confers 
immunity; the disease has not appeared on the same 
farm twice in our experience. 

A poorly nourished cow, should she happen to be 
attacked by this disease in a severe form, may not 
survive. Otherwise recovery is the rule. The disease 
is therefore important chiefly because of the resulting 
shrinkage in the milk output. 

The treatment of enzootic dysentery should begin 
as soon after the disease is recognized as possible, and 
every bovine on the farm should be treated from the 
first. Almost invariably all cows are affected, once 
the disease enters a herd, and the veterinarian who has 
had experience with this disease knows that although 
he may not be able to check the outbreak abruptly, 
he can lessen the severity of the attack by early treat- 
ment. Cows treated before they develop symptoms of 
the disease are affected in a very mild form, and re- 
cover in a few days. If the animals are treated only 
as they develop the disease, one after another, the 
attack in a herd is prolonged unnecessarily. 

We have had the best results in the treatment of 
this disease from an oily preparation consisting of 
beechwood creosote, twenty drops; oil of cajuput, half 
an ounce; cottonseed oil, two ounces; this size dose is 
given four times daily until the diarrhea stops. If the 
case is an exceptionally severe one we may give one 
or two doses of opium to control the scours at first ; 
this is rarely necessary with the above treatment. 

We pay little attention to the feed; in most cases 
the animals will not eat anything. Water should be 
given in very small quanl it ies, but at frequent inter- 
vals. If the cattle are watered at a tank they usually 
drink to excess. 



60 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

In our early experiences with this disease we used 
various medicinal agents which can be relied on in 
other forms of diarrhea. None of them accomplished 
much good. In the combination given above we con 
sider the beechwood creosote the active principle. The 
value of the combination might be enhanced by the 
addition of tincture of capsicum. 



COCCIDIAL DYSENTERY 

Coccidial dysentery in cattle is an acute disease oc 
curring in epizootic and enzootic form. 

It is seen most frequently during those months of 
the year in which cattle are grazing, and young cattle 
are most commonly affected. Mild cases of the dis- 
ease terminate favorably in three or four days. Se- 
vere attacks terminate in death frequently in the same 
number of days. Several animals are affected at the 
same time. On occasions an entire herd was attacked 
on the same day. The diarrhea becomes suddenly 
and fully established in almost all cases. The evac- 
uations are copious and thin and are soon accom- 
panied by very serious tenesmus. Within the course 
of eight or ten hours bloody streaks, and sometimes 
large blood clots, can be found in the evacuations. In 
grave cases the tenesmus may attain such severity 
that varying degrees of eversion of the rectum are 
seen in some of the cows. There is great depression 
and loss of appetite and the animals are soon in a 
very weakened state, trembling and staggering about. 
Before death there may be coma, or delirium border- 
ing on convulsions. The feces invariably are foul 
smelling and are usually intermixed with gas bubbles. 

If the attack is a mild one improvement is evident 



COCCIDIAL DYSENTERY 61 

at the end of eighteen or twenty-four hours; if the 
symptoms do not decrease in severity at this time 
the attack is usually fatal. 

The treatment of coccidial dysentery does not prove 
successful in very severe attacks, which run on to a 
fatal termination in spite of all treatment. In mild 
or only moderately severe attacks the results from 
treatment attained are quite satisfactory. 

The first important step is to have the animals sta- 
bled at once and provide for watering them from a 
supply different from the one they had access to while 
on pasture. The water should be allowed in very 
small quantities, but ' frequently. 

The medical treatment begins with an ounce dose 
of dilute acetic acid in a small quantity of water. 
Every half hour thereafter until relief is evident we 
give tincture of opium two drams, oil of eucalyptus 
half an ounce, dilute acetic acid half an ounce, shak- 
ing these three drugs up together with a little water 
for a^drench. As soon as the evacuations are less fre- 
quent and the tenesmus less severe two or more hours 
are allowed to pass between doses. Cases exhibiting 
protrusions of the rectal mucosa as a result of severe 
tenesmus may be given a large dose of morphin sul- 
phate hypodermically. Animals recovering from an 
attack of coccidial dysentery have a long convalescent 
period. They do not resume normal feeding nor gain 
their former condition for a long time after recovery. 



62 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



JOHNES DISEASE 

This disease, also known as para-tuberculosis in- 
testinalis, is a form of diarrhea which affects cattle 
with some frequency in certain localities. The disease 
is an infectious one and the feces from cattle suffering 
from it are to be considered as the most common car- 
rier of the infection. The course of Johnes disease 
is chronic in character, extending over several months 
as a rule, and generally terminating' in death. 

While the disease occurs mainly in isolated in- 
stances, affecting only one or two cows in the herd 
at the same time, the infection may remain in the 
stable indefinitely, so that cases of the disease appear 
at intervals for years. 

The symptoms of Johnes disease are not accom- 
panied by any very remarkable diagnostic climax. 
Until the veterinarian has seen a few cases of the 
disease he does not get a very clear conception of the 
clinical index to the condition. 

A cow, in the beginning, has somewhat more fre- 
quent bowel evacuations than normal; a little later 
these evacuations become somewhat thin in consis- 
tency, and finally, at the end of a week or two, a real 
diarrhea has developed. This diarrhea is very per- 
sistent; it may improve slightly on certain days, but 
always returns. There is no particular character of 
evacuations; towards the end of the disease there may 
be some mucus mixed w T ith the feces. 

The appetite of the cow is but slightly affected, but 
emaciation rapidly becomes evident. At the end of 
six weeks or two months there is a veritable cachexia, 
terminating in marasmus, decubitus, and death. Re- 
coveries are rare once the disease becomes well estab- 



JOHNES DISEASE 63 

lished. In some cases constipation sets in before death 
occurs, so that there may be several days with no evac- 
uations, preceding the end. 

The treatment of Johnes disease up to the present 
time has been unsuccessful. Until a satisfactory treat- 
ment has been elaborated the handling of this disease 
lies solely in prevention. Feces from infected animals 
should be cremated and premises disinfected. Imme- 
diate isolation of the patient should be the rule, and 
when death comes the entire carcass should be buried 
in quicklime. 



DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSTIC MARKS OF— 

Enzootic Dysentery 

1. Affects cattle of all ages; calves, young stock, 
old stock. 

2. Occurs during winter and spring. 

3. Affects animals stabled or on range. 

4. Onset is sudden. 

5. Course of disease is from one to two weeks. 

6. No appetite. 

7. Feces have no abnormal odor. 

8. Feces are granular. 

9. Feces are chocolate colored. 

10. Milk secretion totally absent. 

11. Pertussis is a common complication. 

12. Practically never fatal. 

Coccidial Dysentery 

1. Affects chiefly young stock. 

2. Occurs during grass season. 

3. Affects animals being pastured almost wholly. 



64 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

4. Onset is very acute. 

5. Course of disease is from two to five days. 

6. No appetite. 

7. Feces have distinct odor ; foul. 

8. Feces are liquid. 

9. Feces are hemorrhagic. 

10. Milk secretion diminished. 

11. No pertussis. 

12. Commonly fatal ; probably 20 per cent. 

Johnes Disease 

1. Affects all ages. 

2. Occurs in all seasons. 

3. Affects animals under all conditions of feeding. 

4. Onset is gradual. 

5. Course of disease is from one to three months. 

6. Appetite remains good. 

7. Feces have no marked odor. 

8. Feces are copious and thin. 

9. Feces have no characteristic color. 

10. Milk secretion not greatly affected. 

11. No pertussis. 

12. Always fatal, eventually. 



SIMPLE DIARRHEA IN CALVES 65 



SIMPLE DIARRHEA IN CALVES 

Diarrhea in a simple or sporadic form occurs in 
calves during the first few weeks of life. It may 
appear as early as two or three days after birth; 
most commonly at the end of the first week or ten 
days. 

The bowel evacuations are performed at short in- 
tervals, the feces having a very light yellow color 
and considerable odor. When the disease has been 
active for twenty-four or forty-eight hours the calf 
has a dejected appearance, is listless, and does not 
move about much. In some cases there are slight 
colicky pains. 

If the disease is not checked the calf rapidly loses 
strength, lies down almost constantly and dies, having 
lingered for several days in an exhausted cachectic 
condition. 

The treatment of this condition is followed by 
prompt and satisfactory results if the case is taken in 
hand while the patient is yet vigorous. Neglected cases 
frequently die in spite of the most careful nursing 
and judicious treatment. 

Calves which have just been attacked with diarrhea 
are given a few large doses of intestinal antiseptics. 
We have had most excellent results from the triple 
sulpho-carbolates : zinc, sodium and calcium. Calves 
up to two weeks old we give two thirty-grain tablets 
at one dose, and repeat the same in about four hours. 
This is usually all that is required. 

When a case has been neglected until the calf has 
abdominal pains and has become listless and weak, 
the treatment requires more care. The calf must be 
provided with warm quarters, and if the abdomen is 



66 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

quite tense and the colicky pains frequently recur, a 
weak mustard plaster is applied on the belly. 

We then order a dose every hour or two of tincture 
of capsicum ten minims, triple sulpho-carbolates fif- 
teen grains (5 grs. each of sulpho-carbolates : zinc, 
sodium and calcium), and compound tincture of gam- 
bir half ounce. This is kept up hourly until four or 
five doses are given, thereafter every two to four hours 
according to the case. If more stimulation is neces- 
sary a small dose of warm brandy may be given now 
and then. 

In exceptional cases tincture of opium may be used 
to advantage but it should not be used if it can be 
avoided. Frequently, when opium is used in conjunc- 
tion to check the scours the case is transformed into 
a stubborn attack of constipation which proves as dif- 
ficult to relieve as the disease which preceded it. In 
the treatment which we have outlined are contained 
no agents to cause the prolonged effect of opiates. 

When a troublesome constipation does supervene on 
a case of diarrhea in calves we recommend large doses 
of castor oil, with a few doses of cascara sagrada. If 
the treatment which we have outlined is used the oc- 
currence of constipation as a sequel will be practically 
unheard of. 



INFECTIOUS DYSENTERY OF CALVES 67 



INFECTIOUS DYSENTERY OF CALVES 

This form of diarrhea in calves is very prevalent in 
some localities. It differs from sporadic or simple 
dysentery to that extent that it is very rapidly fatal. 
It can probably be best described as a hyperacute 
diarrhea. 

This disease attacks calves very soon after their 
birth; in some cases it is present at the time of birth. 
Usually the symptoms set in on the first or second 
day and the course of the disease is very rapid and 
the termination fatal in a high percentage of cases. 

Infectious dysentery of calves begins as an ordinary 
diarrhea, developing in the course of a few hours into 
a very grave condition. 

The evacuations are at first normal in color; later 
they become of a pale-grey, or almost white, shade. 
The odor is intense, and the evacuations are accom- 
panied by much straining. In spite of the severe 
tenesmus, the evacuations, which are very thin now, 
do not spurt outward, but merely run down the but- 
tocks. This region and the tail are soon very filthy 
and foul-smelling. At the end of from ten to fifteen 
hours, convulsions, and, finally, decubitus and death, 
occur. 

The treatment of this disease has not been very 
satisfactory in the past. Most cases terminated in 
death in spite of prompt remedial measures. 

Recently fair results have been reported from ser- 
ums prepared from horses subjected to the effects of 
the colon bacillus, and this serum deserves further 
trial at the hands of practitioners. However, for all 
purposes in general practice, we must yet consider 
the handling of this disease almost wholly from a 



68 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

prophylactic standpoint. Pregnant cows should not 
be permitted to give birth in infected stables and 
all calves born on premises where the disease has been 
known to occur should at once be submitted for nre- 
ventive inoculation. For all purposes of prevention 
the serums now in use appear to be reliable. 

We are not acquainted with any form of curative 
treatment which we can recommend. 

MUSCULAR RHEUMATISM 

This is by no means a rare affection in dairy cows. 
It is seen quite frequently in cows housed in cemented 
stables, not so frequently in cows stabled on ground or 
wood floors, and almost never during the months when 
ibe cattle are on grass. 

Most attacks are of a sub-acute character. Both 
young and old cows are affected, and in rare instances 
even calves have been seen thus afflicted. An attack 
of muscular rheumatism appears in cattle in a grad- 
ual manner. Usually a single animal is affected, bat it 
is nothing unusual for several cows to develop symp- 
toms at the same time. 

There is at first a general stiffness, shown by very 
limited flexion of the extremities, especially the hind 
extremities, and a disinclination to move about. If 
the animal is confined in a stanchion she has some 
difficulty in getting up after she has been lying down 
for a time ; there is no struggling or flopping about 
ris in cases due to weakness or paresis, but the at- 
tempt to arise partakes more of the nature of hesi- 
tancy. The animal seems afraid to undergo the ex- 
ertion required to assume the standing position. When 
the standing position is finally acquired the cow 
" stands in a bunch," swaying backward and forward 



MUSCULAR RHEUMATISM 69 

a few times, and then shifts from one leg to the other 
for several minutes. When she is released from the 
stanchion she does not seem to appreciate her free- 
dom and* may not follow the herd out into the yard. 
If she is urged she moves cautiously, becoming some- 
what more supple in her movements after she walks 
a short distance. 

The foregoing is about the extent of the symptoms 
in usual cases. In more marked attacks there appears 
excessive lameness in one limb or another after this. 
Soreness cannot be located in any particular spot; the 
animal exhibits signs of pain equally on any part of 
the member when examined or gives no reaction what- 
ever to manipulations. There is some falling off in 
appetite and but one or two degress of fever. 

The response to treatment is very prompt. If pos- 
sible the animal should be turned loose in a box-stall, 
the floor of which should be dry and well bedded. A 
saline purge is administered. Following this the cow 
is to be drenched three times daily with a preparation 
containing fluid extract colchicum half a dram, sodium 
salicylate one dram and hexamethylenamine one dram 
in each dose, using water to dissolve the last two in- 
gredients. A few doses produce considerable improve- 
ment, and four or five days of this treatment effects 
the disappearance of all the symptoms. 

In severe cases in which there is a very 'marked 
lameness in one leg a liniment may be applied in con- 
junction with the above treatment. A good combina- 
tion for use as a liniment in these cases is oil of 
cajuput one ounce, camphorated soap liniment two 
ounces, alcohol two ounces, water to make twelve 
ounces. This should be briskly rubbed over the mus- 
cular and tendinous regions of the affected limb sev- 
eral times during the day. 



70 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



PARAPLEGIA (Bovine Azoturia) 

Under this head we will consider that form of 
paralysis of the posterior limbs which occnrs in cattle 
with considerable frequency, and always precipitately. 

It is this condition that has been designated " azotu- 
ria of cattle." In our estimation the condition does 
not resemble azoturia in any other respect than the 
inability to arise; the other symptoms and phenomena 
of azoturia are not present. Neither is paraplegia 
ever seen in cattle in a mild or partial form, as is the 
case quite often in horses attacked with azoturia. Par- 
aplegia always occurs in the cow in the form of a 
complete paralysis of the posterior extremities, total 
loss of power and absolute decubitus. 

It affects cattle of all ages, in every state or condi- 
tion, in pregnancy and in barenness. It affects cattle 
housed under the most sanitary and hygienic condi- 
tions, as well as cattle kept in filthy environment. It 
occurs in the winter months when cattle are stabled 
and in the summer ^months when they are at pasture. 
There are no premonitory symptoms indicating the ap- 
proach of the trouble. In every other form of paral- 
ysis, with which we are familiar, there are certain 
unfailing premonitory manifestations. Not so in this 
disease. The cow is found in the recumbent position, 
usually flat on its side. The veterinarian is called in ; 
he can get no other history in regard to the case. All 
the owner can tell him is that he found the cow down, 
either in the yard, barn, pasture, or wherever it hap- 
pened to be. He has observed absolutely no sign of 
ailing or sickness before the animal was found down. 
Usually the farmer thinks the cow has been, what he 
calls, "split." 



PARAPLEGIA 71 

The veterinarian begins his examination, and finds a 
case about as follows : 

The temperature is either normal or not far from 
it. If the cow has been down only an hour or two, 
the temperature may be at 104 degrees Fahrenheit or 
thereabouts. After she has been down a number of 
hours the temperature is about normal. When the 
animal is rolled up on her chest (providing she has not 
already assumed that attitude voluntarily) she appears 
entirely normal. She is bright and apparently suffer- 
ing no pain; if there is some feed within reach she 
begins to eat. 

The pulse is somewhat faster than normal, but not 
much altered. 

AVhen the cow is urged to get up she willingly makes 
the attempt; she is- able to stand on her front legs 
but the hind ones lie inert and the rump does not leave 
the ground. If the animal is given assistance by lift- 
ing at the tail she makes a few feeble outward strokes 
with each hind leg and then usually falls in a heap. 
There seems to be a total lack of power for adduction 
and flexion; all motion is towards a Eduction and ex- 
tension, as in an obturator paralysis. Sensation is 
diminished in the parts from the lumbar region back- 
ward, and in some instances almost absent. In near- 
ly every case the tail is flabby and immobile. The 
latter is diagnostic of this condition and differentiates 
the case from obturator paralysis, obstetrical paralysis 
and other diseases of similar symptomatology. The 
course of paraplegia is irregular and indefinite. Usu- 
ally the cow retains a good appetite and apparently 
suffers no pains. At intervals she makes strenuous 
efforts to arise, creeping or falling over a considerable 
area in the course of a day. 



72 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

At first there is coprostasis; after a day or two 
defecation is re-established. Improvement may be seen 
sometimes within a few days; the tail regains its mo- 
tility, the hind legs come nearer to the body. After 
a few more days the standing position is attained for 
a moment or two, bnt the cow almost immediately 
collapses again. Several more days, rarely before two 
whole weeks after the onset of the attack, see the cow 
get up and stand fairly steady. Complete recovery, 
with good co-ordination, requires another week or ten 
days. 

In other instances the cow shows not a particle of 
improvement, and may remain in the recumbent posi- 
tion until she is either killed or dies from other causes. 
This may not occur for three or four weeks. 

The treatment of this condition is not highly satis- 
factory. In our practice we treat the cow for two or 
three days and if she shows no improvement at the 
end of that time we advise destruction. If she shows 
improvement sufficient to arouse reasonable hope of 
recovery, we continue the treatment a few days 
longer, or, if the cow continues to improve, until recov- 
ery is complete. 

The best results in the first few days of the sick- 
ness come from atropin in half-grain doses, every four 
hours. On the second or third day we begin with 
strychnin, a quarter grain of the sulphate four times 
daily. Massage of the affected parts sometimes 
hastens recovery. Counter-irritants applied along the 
spinal column in the lumbar region are also used. 

The treatment is mostly empirical, because the path- 
ology of the condition is not known. It is therefore 
doubtful whether any improvement obtained is the 
result of the treatment or of vis medicatrix naturae. 



ACUTE BULBAR PARALYSIS 73 



ACUTE BULBAR PARALYSIS 

Under this head we undertake to discuss a patho- 
logical condition in cattle which occurs quite fre- 
quently and usually in a typical form. 

The exact nature of this condition from an etiolog- 
ical standpoint is not known. In some instances it 
assumes an enzootic character, having been described 
by some authors in this form as an enzootic pharyn- 
geal paralysis. As the symptoms are not by any means 
confined to the pharynx, nor to the effects of a pharyn- 
geal paralysis, this name is misleading. 

A disease which is prevalent in Europe in an en- 
zootic and epizootic form and which has been named 
the disease of Aujesky, somewhat resembles what we 
term acute bulbar paralysis in this country. Au- 
jesky 's disease may be the same disease in a more 
active form ; the cases which he has described as 
occurring in Europe have to be differentiated from 
furious rabies. Acute bulbar paralysis as seen in the 
United States may on occasions be taken for dumb 
rabies. Under certain conditions, such as exist when 
the disease occurs shortly before or after parturition, 
it is also confused with parturient paresis. 

Acute bulbar paralysis seems to affect cattle of all 
ages, although there is a slight preference on the part 
of the disease for animals which are not aged. As 
a general rule it may be said to be sporadic in na- 
ture; in exceptional instances it is mildly enzootic. 

The inaugural symptom is a dullness, or an appear- 
ance indicating general indisposition. The animal will 
neither eat nor drink; rumination is suspended and 
constipation exists. These symptoms the veterinarian 
usually hears in the history given by the owner. The 



74 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

veterinarian as a rule does not see the case until more 
definite symptoms have developed, which is usually 
on the second or third day. The cow now lies down 
most of the time. If she is sufficiently urged by prod- 
ding or whipping she can usually be made to get up on 
her feet. This is a good point to have in mind in case 
the attack has occurred soon after calving, when it 
would be necessary to exclude parturient paresis. 

When the cow has assumed the standing position 
she constantly shifts her weight from limb to limb ; 
she is restless and in a few minutes lies down again. 
While she is standing she sometimes kicks backward 
repeatedly with one hind leg. 

There are no bowel evacuations, but usually the 
urine dribbles away, apparently involuntarily. 

There is a steady dripping of clear saliva from the 
mouth; not a ropy, stringy saliva hanging from the 
mouth but a steady dripping, and clear. Tears flow 
down over the sides of the face steadily. When the 
cow has been lying down for a few minutes she ap- 
parently goes to sleep if she is not molested ; she be- 
gins to moan and will remain in a semi-comatose con- 
dition indefinitely if undisturbed. If she is slapped or 
shaken she wakes, looks about a moment or two, and 
goes to sleep again. During the moments of wakeful- 
ness the mouth hangs partly open. 

In this stage the temperature is raised from two to 
four degrees. In the end it becomes subnormal. Swal- 
lowing, if not entirely impossible, is performed with 
great reluctance and difficulty. 

At the end of another twenty-four to forty-eight 
hours the cow is no longer able to gain the standing 
position ; she lies flat on her side part of the time, 
making ineffectual struggles to arise at intervals. 
There are now symptoms pointing towards pulmonary 



ACUTE BULBAR PARALYSIS 75 

edema or congestion; severe dyspnea accompanied by 
rustling sounds. The tongue protrudes from the 
mouth; diarrhea is present. The temperature now 
keeps going down until it may be several degrees 
subnormal; the periods of coma are prolonged, and 
the cow dies on the fifth or sixth day after the begin- 
ning of the attack. 

Some cases run a somewhat slower course, dying on 
the eighth to tenth day. Now and then a case sur- 
vives the acute attack, gradually assuming a subacute 
form and lingering along for several weeks. In the 
latter form inspiration pneumonia develops at last and 
pulmonary gangrene supervenes. 

The treatment of this disease is far from satisfac- 
tory. In fact, all that we can do is to treat the symp- 
toms as they arise. Until the exact nature of the con- 
dition is discovered the treatment will be empirical. 

We can point to no particular remedial agent or 
method of treatment which has given good results in 
our practice. We have used every form of treatment 
which the symptoms, and pathology so far as it is 
understood, would indicate as helpful, but without 
success. For this reason we refrain from suggesting 
any method of handling this disease, leaving the 
treatment to the judgment of the individual veteri- 
narian. 

Because of the apparent semi-infectious nature that 
the disease sometimes assumes, when it occurs in the 
enzootic form, we would suggest as a precautionary 
matter the thorough disinfection of the premises on 
which a case develops. If it can conveniently be ar- 
ranged* the patient should be taken out of the herd 
and isolated. It is impossible to differentiate the spo- 
radic from the enzootic form clinically; because of 
this all cases of this disease should be regarded as 
being communicable. 



76 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



SENILE PARALYSIS 

This is a condition which occurs with considerable 
regularity in old cows. In most cases it takes what 
may be termed a progressive form, starting with a 
stiffness in one hind leg. After weeks, sometimes 
months, a lameness develops in one hind leg, with- 
out any evidence of swelling or any localized area of 
soreness. About at this time it is noticed that the 
cow "can not get up as well as she used to"; she 
seems to be weak in the posterior parts. Also about 
at this time she begins to look bad; does not thrive 
or keep in her usual good condition, although her 
appetite is apparently as good as ever. 

Very soon after the trouble has reached this stage 
the cow becomes entirely unable to get up without 
assistance. This condition is confined to aged cows 
and is never seen in cows under nine or ten years old. 

Usually it is best in these cases to advise the de- 
struction of the cow. While now and then one of 
these cases improves sufficiently under treatment to 
enable the owner to dispose of the cow in some other 
manner, it is usually a loss from a financial standpoint 
to attempt their cure. 

The condition is seen both in cows which are in 
various stages of pregnancy and in cows which are 
barren. It seems, however, to run a more rapid course 
in pregnant cows. 



PUERPERAL MANIA 77 



PUERPERAL MANIA 

This is a somewhat rare pathological condition, but 
occurs frequently enough in cows so that a knowledge 
of its manifestations is essential. 

Puerperal mania is important in the main because 
of the possibility of its clinical phenomena being mis- 
taken for rabies. In itself, in so far as prognosis is 
concerned, puerperal mania is a benign and very tran- 
sient disease. 

It is seen in cows nearly always during the last 
months of pregnancy, or during the first week after 
calving. An otherwise kind and docile cow becomes 
suddenly nervous and highly excitable. Within a few 
hours she becomes violent, well nigh unmanageable. 
If she is not confined she races about the yard or 
pasture wildly, bellowing and pawing up the earth. 
Feces and urine are passed in small quantities every 
few minutes and there are clonic spasms, or "rip- 
plings," of various groups of muscles. The animal 
will assume a wild, menacing attitude; she makes 
plunges at her own shadows, and will pursue dogs or 
other animals that intrude on her domain. She is less 
intent on rushing at human beings; she may threaten 
to attack but is easily driven off. Her apparent vicious- 
ness is confined to rushing at objects and other ani- 
mals ; she does not lay hold of anything with her teeth. 
When she rests, the conjunctiva is seen to be injected, 
the eyes are very wide open and prominent; on the 
whole, the beast has a " crazy " appearance. 

The treatment is confined to placing the animal in 
a spacious yard or other enclosure where she can not 
easily come to injury while plunging about. The 
prognosis has to do chiefly with the duration of the 



78 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

attack; this is so variable that attempts at forecast- 
ing it can be only problematical. All signs of the 
disease may disappear in a few hours; on the other 
hand, the attack may last several days or even until 
the termination of the pregnancy. 

With the symptoms of puerperal mania in mind, 
the veterinarian can not easily confuse the condition 
with rabies. While at first sight the cow with an 
attack of puerperal mania may cause some concern 
through the fear of rabies, a calm consideration of 
the situation will usually decide the diagnosis. We 
would make a comparison of the two diseases from 
the standpoint of diagnosis in the following manner: 

Rabies Puerperal Mania 

Possible history of attack by 

dog or other animal. No history of such occurrence. 

Premonitory symptoms, such 

as itching, indisposition, etc. No premonitory signs. 

Dysphagia. Swallows normally. 

Attacks viciously, using teeth Attacks excitedly only; will 
on objects poked at her. not grasp objects with teeth. 

r 

Is not easily prevented from 

pursuing her attacks. Is easily driven off. 

Tends towards paralysis and Is unchanged, or soon im- 
prostration rapidly. proved. 

Death is practically a fore- 
gone conclusion. Always recover. 

Affects both sexes. Affects pregnant females only, 

or those in the puerperium. 

If, even then, it should be difficult to make a satis- 
factory differentiation the animal should be isolated 
for twenty-four hours. A case of rabies will have 
developed unmistakable symptoms at the end of that 
period; whereas, a case of puerperal mania is usually 
well on the road to recovery in that time. 



OBSTETRICAL PARALYSIS 79 

While ' recoveries have been reported in cases of 
rabies it is very doubtful whether they were correctly 
diagnosed. We can readily understand how one hav- 
ing had no experience with puerperal mania could 
mistake the condition for rabies. For us, however, 
the very fact that the animal survives is ample evi- 
dence that the disease with which the animal was af- 
flicted was not rabies. 



OBSTETRICAL PARALYSIS 

This is a condition which follows only those cases 
of parturition in which the calf is exceedingly large, 
or cases of dystocia, during the correction of which 
the cow is subjected to prolonged handling and bruis- 
ing. It is rarely, if ever, seen after normal delivery 
or after cases of minor dystocia. 

The ideal circumstances for the development of this 
condition consist in prolonged labor due to an abnor- 
mally large fetus. The usual history is that the cow 
was down during the birth and has not been able to 
get up since, or that she went down very soon after 
the calf was delivered and is unable to arise. 

These cases can not very easily be confused with 
parturient paresis because the entire symptomatology 
in obstetrical paralysis is confined to the inability of 
the cow to get up. In every other way the animal 
is normal; no sign of coma or indisposition in the 
least. The animal eats and drinks and looks well in 
every way. The most careful examination will bring 
out nothing of value in diagnosis, except that usually 
the tumefied condition of the vulva gives evidence of 
the difficult labor. 



80 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

The history in these cases determines the diagnosis. 
A very large calf; mneh pulling; long time in effect- 
ing delivery. Sometimes these cases supervene on 
cases of dystocia which the veterinarian himself has 
been called to relieve and it is on this point that I 
want to call especial attention in this chapter. 

It has been my experience that obstetrical paralysis 
will not develop in these cases where the cow, if 
lying when delivery is effected, is immediately made 
to rise. Every mans must be used to get the animal 
upon her feet at once and when this has been done 
some one should remain present to see to it that she 
remains up for at least two hours, during which time 
a little walk should be given every twenty minutes. 

If the cow is on her feet when the calf is delivered 
every effort should be made to keep her up for at 
least two hours, walking her a short distance every 
ten or twenty minutes during this time. 

I can sincerely recommend this as a certain preven- 
tive of this condition, a condition which is very un- 
satisfactory to treat. Once obstetrical paralysis is 
fully developed, a guarded prognosis must always be 
given. 

Some of these cases lie around in this condition for 
three or four weeks and then die. Others lie around 
just as long and recover. Sometimes the condition 
terminates in complete recovery within three or four 
days, and I have known them to terminate fatally 
also, in an equally short period. Recovery is the 
rule, but the duration of the period of recumbency 
is so varied and so indefinite that statements on the 
part of the veterinarian forecasting the termination 
must be given guardedly. 

Probably the best and most prompt effect in treat- 
ing cases which have been allowed to develop this con- 



PARTURIENT SYNCOPE 81 

dition (I say allowed to develop it because it can cer- 
tainly be prevented) is obtained by frequent vaginal 
douching with hot water containing just a trace of 
fluid extract of belladonna. This in conjunction with 
strychnin or nux vomica administered internally is 
rational and quite satisfactory. 



PARTURIENT SYNCOPE 

This term, parturient syncope, I would give to a 
condition occurring with considerable regularity in 
cows after calving and for which there has hereto- 
fore been no generally recognized name. 

It is most commonly seen in cows which have given 
birth to three or four calves, rarely in younger cows, 
and hardly ever in heifers. It follows both normal 
and difficult parturition and is apparently not gov- 
erned by any degree of dystocia or absence thereof. 
The usual history in these cases is that the cow has 
been off her feed since she had her calf, a day or two 
before. In some cases the condition does not become 
marked until four or five days or even a week after 
calving. The veterinarian finds the symptoms as fol- 
lows: 

The patient appears fairly bright; usually the ab- 
domen is just a trifle "drawn." The temperature, 
if not normal, is raised but half a degree or so. This 
is all, if the doctor has been called in the early 
stages of the condition, and aside from the fact that 
the cow refuses to eat, nothing more is brought out 
in the examination. Of course, as a consequence of 
the anorexia, milk secretion is almost absent. If the 
owner has not called the veterinarian in the early 
stages, the latter sees a greater variety of symptoms 



82 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

when he is called to a case of this kind later; he finds 
now what could have been avoided by prompt and 
appropriate treatment. Dropsical swellings of vary- 
ing proportions are now present, located first along 
the front of the trachea and later gravitating down 
between the forelegs. Constipation and later a diar- 
rhea appears, and the cow now has a haggard, 
"anxious" countenance. She appears somewhat stiff 
and does not care to move about much. The tem- 
perature is normal or very close to normal. 

The treatment in the early stages of this disease is 
simple and promptly satisfactory. It begins with a 
prolonged flushing of the genital tract with very warm 
antiseptic solution. Every veterinarian has his own 
favorite antiseptic for such purposes and any one 
which is non-irritating will do. One such douche, if 
thoroughly carried out, is all that is necessary in the 
early stages of this condition. To complete the han- 
dling of the case, we usually leave a few doses of 
nux vomica. 

When the cow has been allowed to develop the more 
severe form of this condition, either through the own- 
er's procrastination or the veterinarian's treatment,- 
we have on our hands a very grave case, and one very 
unsatisfactory to treat. 

The heart muscle has suffered from the effects of 
the toxin which has been elaborated and slowly ab- 
sorbed. We are assuming that we have to deal in 
this condition with a slow, saprophitic infection. We 
are led to this assumption chiefly because of the pe- 
culiar progress of the symptoms — namely: the drop- 
sical swellings in the absence of pyrexia and the 
almost rheumatic stiffness. 

We begin the treatment in this form as in the 
milder stages, with very warm antiseptic douches. 



PARTURIENT PARESIS 83 

Although the os is usually firmly closed in this stage, 
the irrigations of the vaginal canal seem to do much 
good. These douches are to be given several times 
daily by the owner or attendant. Medical treatment 
internally consists of spartein sulphate, from twenty 
to thirty grains three or four times daily for a w^eek, 
or usually until the dropsical swellings leave. Warm 
quarters and good nursing help much, and in some 
cases a dose of mixed bacterins seems to do good. 
The mortality is very high where the ailment is al- 
lowed to progress to this stage. 



PARTURIENT PARESIS 

This disease, commonly termed milk fever, is of 
very frequent occurrence in dairy cows. 

Not so many years ago milk fever was considered 
a very serious disease; it was usually fatal. Today 
this disease causes but few deaths. Although the 
present day treatment of this disease is wholly em- 
pirical, it is the one disease that the veterinarian can 
almost invariably handle with success. This is the 
more astounding when we take into consideration the 
rapidity with which the disease attacks and the hyper- 
acute character of its manifestations once it becomes 
established. In but few other pathological condi- 
tions do we see such a profound symptomatology occur 
so precipitately. In a way, the prompt and regular 
recovery removes the stain of empirics from this treat- 
ment to a certain degree. There can be not a shadow 
of doubt but what the present day treatment of par- 
turient paresis is correct. Even though we understood 
the pathology of the disease fully, it is not probable 
that we could make any improvement in the treat- 



84 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

ment; at least no improvement that would improve 
the ultimate effect. 

Parturient paresis, when it occurs in its typical 
form, is diagnosed ordinarily from the history and 
circumstances appertaining. Typically the disease 
makes its appearance from one to a few days after 
parturition; atypically it appears after the lapse' of 
a greater number of days, sometime even weeks or 
months, after parturition, and in a few instances be- 
fore the close of the period of gestation. When the 
symptoms of parturient paresis occur before partu- 
rition, or remotely after it, the term parturient pare- 
sis can not be used consistently; we would suggest 
that in this form the disease be given the name of 
pre-parturient paresis. Whether the pre-parturient 
form of this disease is the same as the parturient form, 
pathologically, is a question. It is an established clin- 
ical fact, however, that the pre-parturient form re- 
sponds to the same treatment as the parturient. 

To take up in detail the circumstances, periods, va- 
riations, and clinical phenomena of this disease when 
it occurs in an atypical form would make a small 
volume in itself. In the diagnosis of this disease in 
an atypical form the veterinarian has to rely chiefly 
on his powers of intuition. In this sense we can find 
no better word than intuition; that form of diagnostic 
intuition which comes to the practitioner only after 
close contact with a number of cases of a given kind 
in actual practice. To positively diagnose most of the 
cases of atypical paresis of this form merely from the 
symptoms and clinical manifestations is an impossi- 
bility. What is usually termed a snap diagnosis is 
what is called for here ; the form of diagnosis which 
old and experienced practitioners become adepts in. 
A rapid and collective mental assimilation of the evi- 



PARTURIENT PARESIS 85 

dent clinical picture, history, circumstances and pre- 
sumptions; all of which is instantaneously and almost 
subconsciously tabulated, with previous experience as 
a guide, and the diagnosis is made. 

Parturient paresis in typical form presents no diffi- 
culties in diagnosis. It follows an easy parturition 
with the greatest frequency. This is one of the points 
to be elicited in the history obtained from the owner 
or attendant — namely: whether the parturition has 
been complicated by any degree of dystocia. The dis- 
ease is rarely, almost never, seen after difficult par- 
turition. 

The cows affected are almost without exception in 
good condition and heavy milkers. "While young 
cows are more frequently affected, the disease also at- 
tacks aged cows. From twenty-four to seventy-two 
hours after the birth of the calf is usually the time 
of attack in the typical form. 

The cow refuses her feed and shows a stiffness or 
stiltiness in her movements of the hind legs. Within 
not more than a few hours there are rigors or trem- 
bling of the posterior muscle groups and the cow is 
losing the co-ordination of movements in the rear ex- 
tremities;* she goes "wabbly" behind, and while 
standing still constantly shifts her weight from leg to 
leg. From this stage it is only a matter of minutes, 
or at most an hour, until the animal goes down. Very 
soon after assuming the recumbent attitude there ap- 
pear signs of drowsiness, and within another hour or 
two the cow is in a comatose condition. She fre- 
quently snores ; the neck is sharply bent on itself with 
the head resting against the thorax and the animal is 
not aroused by blows or chastisement. In well marked 
cases this attitude is maintained in death, which may 
occur in a few hours if the animal is not properly 



86 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

treated; in other cases death is preceded by convul- 
sions, terminating in opisthotonic position. In most 
of the cases to which the veterinarian is called the 
animal is down. 

The early signs of the disease frequently are not 
observed by the attendant or owner; in other in- 
stances the disease progresses so rapidly that even if 
the onset of the disease is observed and recognized 
the cow goes down before the doctor arrives. He 
finds the patient in the position which we have just 
described. There is salivation of varying degree ; the 
reflexes are abolished almost without exception. In 
most cases the temperature is decidedly subnormal 
taken per rectum, running as low as 96 degrees Fahr- 
enheit in some cases. The history which accompa- 
nies — namely: calf born a day or two before without 
trouble, etc. — decides the diagnosis. 

By far the greater number of cases of parturient 
paresis constitute in themselves the sole complication 
of the parturition. We mean by this that this dis- 
ease is only very rarely accompanied by other dis- 
eases or accidents of pregnancy, such as retention of 
the after-birth, eversion of the uterus, and other trou- 
bles. Now t and then a case occurs in company with 
such conditions, but in rare instances only. 

The prognosis in parturient paresis is favorable as 
long as there is a spark of life in the cow. We have 
seen quick recoveries in cases which had every ap- 
pearance of being moribund. In parturient paresis 
the veterinarian arrives "too late" only if he arrives 
when the cow is dead. While it is highly desirable 
and advantageous that the case be taken in hand as 
soon as possible after the onset of the attack, hopes 
for saving the animal's life and usefulness in cases in 
which treatment has been delayed, should never be 



PARTURIENT PARESIS 87 

given up as long as the cow shows signs of life. In 
this disease the old saying "as long as there is life 
there is hope" is most fitting. 

We urge haste in beginning the treatment of any 
attack of parturient paresis; all cases should be 
treated at once, because of the rapidity with which 
death approaches at times. But at the same time we 
desire to caution against a grave or unfavorable prog- 
nosis in cases in which treatment has not been given 
promptly. 

We wish to emphasize this point because we have 
known veterinarians to refuse to treat cases of this 
disease when treatment had been delayed and the 
animal appeared to be in a dying condition. 

The treatment of parturient paresis has been a suc- 
cess since the introduction, by Schmidt, of the potas- 
sium iodid treatment. Schmidt's treatment has grad- 
ually been converted into the present day air treat- 
ment, having taken various steps, from iodid of potash 
solution to saline solution, to sterile water, to oxygen, 
and lastly to atmospheric air pressure. As far as it has 
been possible to ascertain, the effects which are ob- 
tained are due to pressure exerted on the parts within 
the udder with which the various agents come in con- 
tact. But even this is not fully understood ; as we said 
in beginning the discussion of this disease, the treat- 
ment is empirical. It has been held that the effect of 
the treatment was due to the oxygen content of the 
various agents. This is not in accord with practical 
evidence, because not much difference is seen in the 
result whether atmospheric air or pure oxygen gas is 
injected. 

Today, in this country at least, the treatment of 
parturient paresis is commonly called the "air treat- 
ment," and consists in the main of tensely inflating the 



88 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

udder with air. Various methods are in vogue for this 
purpose and one is probably as good as another. Most 
of the apparatus used for this purpose consists of a rub- 
ber bulb, rubber tubing, and a milk tube. 

No matter in what stage of the attack the veteri- 
narian gets the case the treatment is the same. While 
the veterinarian is preparing an antiseptic solution 
and assembling his air machine the owner or attendant 
should milk the udder out thoroughly. Usually there 
is not much milk present in the udder, but what is 
there should be milked out thoroughly. The cow is 
now to be shoved into such a position that the four 
teats can be handled easily; usually it is sufficient to 
pull the upper hind leg straight backward. 

The two teats on the under side are to be inflated 
first. The entire teat is washed with antiseptic solu- 
tion, paying special attention to the teat orifice, and 
the milk tube attached to the air apparatus is then 
inserted. Air is pumped in until the quarter supplying 
the teat is tensely distended. The tube is then care- 
fully removed and the same process repeated with each 
of the remaining teats. 

If the end of the teat is repeatedly pushed into itself 
until the distention of the teat proper has decreased 
to a certain extent no more air will escape. To ac- 
complish this satisfactorily requires some practice but 
when it is once mastered it proves a good " stunt. " 
We most emphatically condemn the application of 
tapes or rubber bands to the teat with the object of 
preventing the escape of the air. If they are applied 
sufficiently tight to accomplish the purpose for which 
they are used they frequently cause trouble. In an 
experience in practice over a period of more than ten 
years we have never had an unfavorable sequel di- 
rectly due to the inflation of the udder, such for in- 



PARTURIENT PARESIS 89 

stance as mastitis or teat strictures; and we confess 
that in many instances we have not taken the anti- 
septic precautions demanded. We attribute our 
"luck" to the aversion we have towards tapes and 
rubber bands for holding the air in the udder. Some 
of our friends in practice who were using tapes or 
rubber bands had cases of stricture and mastitis as 
sequelae at times. 

When all four quarters have been properly inflated 
it has been the custom to give from a quarter to a 
grain of strychnin sulphate hypodermically. For some 
time we have been using atropin sulphate, in doses 
from a quarter to a half grain, in place of the strych- 
nin. The result has been a quicker response to the 
treatment and a more prompt complete recovery. 

When we have given the atropin injection we see 
to it that the cow is thickly covered with blankets, 
the object being to hasten the rise of the body tempera- 
ture to normal, toward which desirable end the atropin 
injection plays no small part. 

In our experience we have found that when the tem- 
perature rises to normal the animal is able to get on 
her feet. In atypical cases the temperature is no guide 
to the animal's condition. In typical cases the tem- 
perature is a very reliable guide, so much so with us 
that, when the temperature approaches normal we con- 
sider the fight won. After giving the atropin and 
applying several layers of blankets we take the tem- 
perature every fifteen minutes. In most cases it be- 
gins to rise promptly and usually reaches normal be- 
fore three hours elapse. As the temperature rises the 
coma lessens, the cow becomes brighter and indulges 
in frequent acts of normally performed deglutition. 

We do not wait for the cow to arise voluntarily; 
as soon as she is fairly bright, with a normal or near- 



90 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

normal temperature, we urge her at intervals. As 
soon as she makes a good attempt to arise she is as- 
sisted by lifting by the tail. When she gains the stand- 
ing position she is supported until she becomes steady 
and stands firmly; until she is standing quite firmly 
she must not be permitted to move about for fear that 
she may fall. "When she does stand firmly she is left 
to herself; water may be allowed but no feed for from 
eight to twelve hours; at the end of that time she may 
be milked. This concludes the handling of this disease 
in its usual typical form. 

We will now consider some of the variations, those 
especially which are of the most frequent occurrence. 



Relapse 

In some cases of parturient paresis, which in the 
start are apparently typical cases, the cow gives only 
a very moderate response to the treatment. She be- 
gins to brighten up some but after an hour or two 
no further progress has been made. In such cases 
the best method is to "leave well enough 'alone" for 
a few hours. If at the end of four or five hours no fur- 
ther improvement has set in the entire course of treat- 
ment is to be repeated. In other cases the cow re- 
sponds to the treatment promptly, gets up on her feet 
within a few hours and is apparently entirely relieved. 
After about eight or ten hours she suddenly develops 
another attack, goes down, and soon falls into a coma- 
tose state. In cases of this sort the entire treatment 
is to be repeated, just as though it were an initial at- 
tack. The response to treatment in relapses of this 
disease is not so prompt as in primary attacks. 



PARTURIENT PARESIS 91 

Pre-parturient Attacks 

The treatment of cases occurring before parturition 
is exactly the same as that for cases after parturition. 

Eclamptic Symptoms 

In occasional cases of parturient paresis the cow may 
show symptoms of eclampsia. There is not a very well 
marked degree of coma ; but instead more or less nerv- 
ousness, with muscular twitchings. In this form there 
is a true dysphagia, usually accompanied by spasmodic 
contractions in the region of the larynx. In typical 
parturient paresis a certain degree of dysphagia is 
also present, probably due to the general coma or 
lifelessness. In the cases presenting eclamptic signs 
the dysphagia is a true one, apparently due to neurotic 
hyper-tension. These cases are to be given the air 
treatment as in typical cases. By no means administer 
strychnin in this form of the disease. We have seen 
grave symptoms of strychnin poisoning from a half- 
grain hypodermic dose in such cases. The atropin 
injection is ideal for these, and is usually followed 
by prompt cessation of the nervousness. 

It has been our experience that the cases showing 
symptoms of eclampsia make the quickest recoveries ; 
it is only necessary to omit the administration of 
strychnin. Otherwise the treatment is the same as 
for the typical cases. 

Complications 

"When parturient paresis occurs in company with 
such conditions as a retained placenta or an everted 
uterus no attempt should be made to correct these 
abnormalities until the treatment for parturient pa- 



92 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

resis has been administered. The inflation of the 
udder and the hypodermatic injection of atropin sul- 
phate consumes only a few minutes time, after which 
the correction of the other abnormalities can be under- 
taken with safety. 

Prevention 

For the prevention of the occurrence of parturient 
paresis in dairy cows we can offer no remedy. In dif- 
ferent localities different theories exist in this regard, 
most of them being particular ideas about feeding be- 
fore calving, or certain notions about milking the 
cow before calving. Others consist of laxative treat- 
ment ante-partum. We have seen the disease occur 
in spite of all precautions and supposedly preventive 
measures, and have no great faith in any one or the 
other. If we had any choice in this regard we would 
side with the theory which recommends the adminis- 
tration of a cathartic just before calving. 



PATHOGNOMONIC SYMPTOM 93 



A PATHOGNOMONIC SYMPTOM OF FETAL 

DEATH 

It is a common occurrence for the practitioner to be 
called in attendance on cows heavy in calf and pre- 
senting symptoms of a somewhat doubtful character. 
These cases, in cows nearly due to calve, are always 
important from the standpoint of their effect on the 
reputation of the attending surgeon. An error in 
diagnosis and wrong treatment in these cases usually 
results disastrously for the doctor, even if not for the 
cow. 

A variety of pathological conditions within the uter- 
us present very complex symptoms and it requires con- 
siderable experience to recognize and classify them 
correctly. There is, however, one symptom in this 
class of cases which is almost absolutely reliable and 
can always be depended upon. This is the rapid, some- 
times chorea-like twitching of the vulva in those cases 
in which the fetus is dead and undergoing degenerative 
changes. This twitching of the vulva is also seen in 
other diseases, but, in cows nearing the end of the 
period of gestation it is a sure diagnostic sign of fetal 
death when accompanied by fever, anorexia and other 
usual symptoms. 

For many years I have not hesitated to base my 
diagnosis of fetal death on this sign and I have never 
yet been deceived by it. Remember I say this sign 
is reliable when the fetus is dead and undergoing de- 
generative changes. 

I have not been able to test its reliability in other 
animals than cows, in fact, am not sure whether it is 
a symptom in other animals. However, in the cow I 
have so much confidence in this sign that I never hesi- 



94 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

late to begin preparations for delivering the calf at 
once when this symptom is present, and in every case 
I find a pntrid fetus. This sign is donbly valuable as 
an aid to diagnosis of these cases because, usually, a 
putrid fetus is retained; only rarely is a putrid fetus 
expelled spontaneously at the end of the period of 
gestation. All practitioners recognize the gravity of 
this condition. 

It must, of course, be understood that this diagnostic 
sign is in reference to those cases in which the fetus 
dies and begins to degenerate while the os is still 
closed. It would be of no value and has no bearing 
on cases of fetal death resulting at the close of the 
gestation period from dystocia. 

RABIES 

Rabies is not a common disease of dairy cattle. 
When it does occur the diagnosis is made with little 
difficulty ordinarily; because a good history of the 
manner of infection, almost without exception a dog 
bite, can usually be obtained. 

The period of incubation in this disease is quite 
variable, depending upon the amount of virus that has 
been deposited, the virulency of the virus, the resist- 
ance of the patient, and the location of the wound. 
The period of incubation is shortest, other things be- 
ing equal, when the bite is inflicted on the head ; ani- 
mals bitten on the extremities take a longer time to 
develop the symptoms of the disease. Probably in no 
case, however, does the period of incubation exceed 
three months; belief is no longer held in excessively 
long periods of incubation in this disease. Now that 
the infective organism has been recognized we may 
expect positive data on this point in the near future. 



RABIES 95 

The diagnosis of rabies clinically can be made with 
reasonable certainty by many experienced practition- 
ers. A positive diagnosis is possible only by laboratory 
methods. In cattle rabies occurs almost wholly in the 
furious form; cases of paralytic rabies have been re- 
ported in cattle only a few times. 

Nearly always the first symptom in cows is general 
restlessness; the animal moves forward and backward, 
or stamps; shakes the head, gets up and lies down at 
short intervals. Every few minutes small quantities 
of urine and feces are passed, and the cow acts much 
as when in heat. Now she begins to bellow furiously, 
persisting sometimes for a quarter to half an hour 
without a stop. 

The eyes are excessively dilated, with the conjunc- 
tiva markedly injected and the vessels on the sclera 
prominent. The expression of the face is that of a 
combination of fear and anger, an expression that is 
characteristic of the disease, and which experienced 
practitioners recognize as readily as the expression 
of the face in equine tetanus. (In some cases there 
is some pruritus before other symptoms develop, but 
we have seen only occasionally itching and rubbing 
of the location of the wound through which the infec- 
tion entered. While this may be a regular symptom 
in other animals we have almost never seen it in our 
experience with this disease in cattle.) 

The cow, if confined, soon begins to make attempts 
to free herself; she plunges backward and forward, 
rears up, and performs other acts of violence. If 
other animals or persons approach her she makes furi- 
ous attempts to attack them. If an object, such as 
a broom or stick of wood is held in front of her she 
fiercely bunts it with her head and grasps it v T ith the 
teeth if permitted to do so. 



96 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

If the animal is in pasture or yard she races about, 
pawing up the earth, and rushing wildly at all who 
approach. Evidently there is no true hydrophobia 
(or fear of water) for cows affected with rabies will 
plunge into creeks, tanks, or other receptacles for 
water. They are unable to drink, however, because of 
well-marked dysphagia. 

Later, these spells of ferocity, which in the begin- 
ning are of short duration become more prolonged 
and recur at shorter intervals. In all from six to 
twelve hours are spent in this actively furious stage. 
The symptoms then become somewhat milder ; the cow 
shows some lack of co-ordination in movement ; there 
is now ptosis of one or both lids, and general evidences 
of both nerve and muscular exhaustion. After a few 
hours of staggering about she goes down, lying in odd 
positions and struggling in convulsions, sometimes for 
hours, before death comes. 

In our cases the whole course of the disease, from 
initial signs to termination in death, rarely required 
more than thirty-six or forty-eight hours. 

The treatment of rabies is considered hopeless once 
it develops; the only hope lies in prophylaxsis. Sev- 
eral of the manufacturers of biologicals now have fa- 
cilities for supplying veterinarians with the preventive 
treatment of Pasteur ; the inoculation for each day is 
sent by mail in the order in which it is to be used. 
While the treatment is too expensive for common cows 
we recommend it in valuable animals that have been 
attacked by rabid dogs. Animals showing symptoms 
of rabies should either be permitted to develop the 
disease fully so that the diagnosis may be made reason- 
ably certain by clinical means, or they should be im- 
mediately destroyed and the head submitted to the 
laboratory for diagnosis. Either of these procedures 



PARTIAL RETENTION OF SECUNDINES 97 

makes it possible for persons who have exposed them- 
selves to infection by handling the animal or who have 
been bitten, to act according to, the findings. Either 
they should submit themselves to the Pasteur treat- 
ment at once or, if the diagnosis is negative, "forget 
it." "Where there are no laboratory facilities, to de- 
stroy the animal before the disease has developed 
fully, so that it can be diagnosed clinically, is a display 
of poor judgment. 



EFFECTS OF PARTIAL RETENTION OF 
SECUNDINES 

When a considerable portion of the fetal envelopes 
is permanently retained in the uterus of the cow patho- 
logical conditions of various forms develop. 

A portion of the after-birth may be retained in the 
uterus when the cow apparently "cleans" in a normal 
manner. In other instances portions of the membranes 
are left in the uterus when the after-birth is extracted 
manually by inexperienced persons, or even by veteri- 
narians. 

The custom of attaching weights to the protruding 
portion of the after-birth with the object of hastening 
its expulsion usually results in only, partial removal 
of the membranes and the retention of a greater or 
less amount thereof. 

The most frequent results of a partial retention of 
the secundines are the following: 

1. Uterine Catarrh. 

2. Cachexia. 

3. Pyo-metra. 

4. Sterility. 



98 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

Catarrh — When the portion retained is relatively 
small there follows usually a catarrhal uterine dis- 
charge which persists indefinitely. The character of 
this discharge varies from a mucous or slimy fluid re- 
sembling the lochial discharge to a discharge of pure 
pus streaked with blood. 

This discharge usually makes its escape when the 
cow is in the recumbent position, several ounces being 
emitted daily in some cases. The cow's tail and es- 
cutcheon are soiled with the fluid, which later dries 
and forms a mat of filth. The discharge has a putrid 
odor and usually cows suffering from this condition 
can be detected in a herd by this odor alone. 

In other instances the discharge escapes only at in- 
tervals of two or three weeks, usually about at the 
normal periods of estrum. While the general condition 
and well-being of the cow is not affected to any ex- 
tent as long as the condition confines itself to a 
catarrhal affection, cows so affected should be consid- 
ered as giving impure milk. The milk from cows so 
affected is unfit for human consumption if from no 
other standpoint than an esthetic one. 

Cows suffering from catarrhal conditions of the 
uterus as the result of partial retention of the secun- 
dines frequently become sterile. 

The treatment of the condition in this form is no 
more rewarded with satisfactory results than are the 
more severe forms, such as when the condition results 
in cachexia and pus collections, for instance. If the 
veterinarian is called in while the os is yet sufficiently 
dilated to admit the insertion of an irrigating tube and 
the proper drawing off of the fluid, he may be able 
to obtain fairly good and prompt results from irri- 
gations with warm chinosol solutions of about 1 to 
2,000 strength. 



PARTIAL RETENTION OF SECUNDINES 99 

These irrigations must be copious, and should be 
repeated two or three times daily as long as it is pos- 
sible to enter the tube and properly drain out the solu- 
tion. If doubt exists about being able to thoroughly 
siphon off the fluid which it is intended to inject the 
injections had better not be given. The retention of 
quantities of antiseptic solutions, or even sterile water, 
may evoke sufficient irritation and straining to pro- 
duce severe complications; such, for instance, as vag- 
inal prolapse. Usually the veterinarian does not get 
the case until the os has contracted so that the opening 
will barely admit a small finger. In that case we do 
not advise the use of the antiseptic irrigations, and it 
is extremely doubtful whether any form of treatment 
is of actual benefit. The effect of remedial agents ad- 
ministered orally is very uncertain and hardly worth 
the trouble. 

Cachexia. — In some cases resulting from a partial re- 
tention of the after-birth we see very well-marked 
systemic effects. The cow slowly loses weight and 
gradually wastes away. At the end of several months 
she is a weak, wabbly critter with a staring coat and 
general unthrifty appearance. She has become a 
"boarder/' giving little or no milk; as a rule she is 
barren. If she is carefully fed she may eventually re- 
gain some semblance of her former condition. In most 
instances, however, if she does not develop an acute 
attack of pyo-metra and die, she is sold to the butcher. 

Treatment is far from satisfactory. If antiseptic 
irrigations of the uterus are possible they can be used 
with some benefit. Tonics and good feed help some. 
In occasional cases mixed bacterins seem to do much 
good. 

Many of these cases apparently respond nicely to 
treatment at first, then suddenly relapse. Soon they 



100 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

reach such a weakened condition that they remain 
recnmbent, dying from decubitus before many days. 

Pyo-metra. — In another class of cases resulting from 
the same cause we see violent, acute symptoms of pus 
absorption after varied intervals. In these cases the 
contents of the uterus have no doubt been transformed 
into a sea of pus. We have repeatedly seen this dem- 
onstrated post-mortem. 

For several weeks the cow has been exhibiting signs 
of a partial retention of the after-birth ; there has been 
some discharge from the uterus of a muco-purulent 
character and the cow has not been thriving. Now she 
shows unmistakable signs of serious illness; a rigor, 
with a temperature of perhaps 105 to 106 degrees Fah- 
renheit. The respirations are shallow and quite irregu- 
lar; probably ten or twelve rapid respiratory move- 
ments are seen, and then a few are performed more 
slowly, and so on. The appetite is lacking and the cow 
moans at intervals. She stands somewhat "humped 
up," and does not care to move about much. The 
lower commissure of the vulva and the tail over the 
vulva are soiled with discharges and matted filth. A 
quite characteristic odor prevails, and when the ani- 
mal lies down, purulent fluid escapes from the vulva. 
Death may occur in from one to three or four days, 
or the cow may survive the attack, becoming a "liv- 
ing skeleton" at the end of several weeks. 

Aside from irrigating the uterus when it can be 
done, the treatment is wholly symptomatic. 

Sterility. — Pathological conditions caused by a par- 
tial retention of the after-birth very frequently ter- 
minate in barenness. Even in very mild catarrhal 
forms of such conditions it is frequently a very difficult 
matter to get the cow in calf again; usually several 
services are required and the animal does not con- 



ALOPECIA AREATA 101 

ceive until the catarrhal condition has been terminated. 
In some instances the sterility is temporary in char- 
acter, depending probably upon the relative activity 
of the diseased condition within the uterus; after one 
or two seasons of barrenness the cow will again be- 
come pregnant. Many cases, however, terminate in 
permanent worthlessness of the cow for breeding or 
dairy purposes. 



ALOPECIA AREATA 

This is a condition characterized by the falling out 
of the hair in irregular spots on various parts of the 
body. 

The condition deserves mention in this treatise only 
for the reason that valuable breeding or show animals 
are apt to be disfigured by the affection to such an 
extent that their market or showing qualities are in- 
jured. 

Alopecia areata appears as a purely local disease ; no 
systemic derangement is noticed. It begins with 
the appearance of small, rounded bald areas, which 
first appear on the neck and shoulders as a rule. 
Gradually these bald areas enlarge in size, and fresh 
spots appear in other regions also. The skin is ap- 
parently normal, at least nothing in the form of a 
skin lesion per se can be detected. In aggravated 
cases the bald areas may reach great dimensions ; bare 
patches of the size of two hands are not unusual. 

The treatment of this disease is wholly empirical. 
In some cases we have obtained fine results from mas- 
saging the bald areas with pure cajuput oil, while at 
the same time a course of alterative treatment was 
given internally. We can recommend no treatment 



102 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

which gives constantly uniform results. Many cases 
resist all forms of treatment and the condition goes 
on in spite of anything which may be done. Until the 
pathology of this disease is more fully understood we 
can hope to make but little progress along the lines 
of curative treatment. 



HERPES TONSURANS 

This is an affection of the skin. It is commonly 
known as "ring-worm." 

The form of ring-worm disease which is the most 
common in cattle is slightly different from that in 
other animals as regards clinical manifestations. It 
is characterized by the appearance of layers of bark- 
like, or almost wart-like, formations on various parts 
of the body. 

The parts of the body most frequently involved are 
the head, croup, anal and vulvar region, and withers. 

The disease commonly is infectious and trans- 
missible in nature, usually affecting a number of ani- 
mals in the herd. It is transmissible to man also, and 
the caretaker of infected animals not infrequently 
develops the disease. It is presumed that the infection 
is spread by currycombs and brushes and similar 
agencies. The disease is slightly more prevalent in 
young cattle than in old ones, and occurs under all 
conditions of housing as well as at pasture. 

The first recognizable manifestation of this malady 
consists of the appearance of very small, hard and 
rounded, wart-like nodules. They may make their ap- 
pearance on various parts of the body simultaneously ; 
usually, however, the different locations become in- 
volved successively. In this stage there is some pru- 



HERPES TONSURANS 103 

ritus, which the animal demonstrates by rubbing the 
part on posts and other objects. 

In the course of three or four weeks the nodules in- 
crease to a considerable size. They are no longer 
rounded, but now appear irregularly flattened and 
raised on the normal skin surface. Their color is of a 
greyish, ashlike tint, and their thickness sometimes 
exceeds half an inch. In the anal and vulvar region 
they usually assume a very irregular outline and fre- 
quently occur in clusters in these locations. 

The immediate outer edge of the formation is usual- 
ly free, and a considerable portion can be jerked loose 
without disclosing any vascular basic attachments. We 
frequently have seen these bark-like formations assume 
the size of the hand. 

The disease evidently interferes in some manner 
with the nutrition, because the animals affected lose 
some weight, almost invariably. This impairment of 
the usual well-being can hardly be attributed to the 
irritation which exists because, as a rule, after the 
nodular stage has been passed there is apparently lit- 
tle or no pruritus. 

The treatment of this form of ring-worm disease 
is quite satisfactory. Those of the formations that are 
quite loose are forcibly removed and the underlying 
active base is then painted twice daily with pure iodin 
tincture. A week of these paintings terminates the 
trouble here. 

The formations which can not be safely extracted 
because of extensive contact with the dermal tissues 
are to be soaked several times daily with olive oil to 
which a small proportion of volatile oil has been added. 
After five to seven days of these oil soakin^s most of 
the formation can be removed without trouble. The 
exposed active area is then submitted to the iodin treat- 
ment twice daily until cured. 



104 SPECIAL CATTLE. THERAPY 

In all cases under treatment careful examination of 
the entire skin should be made frequently with the 
object of locating* fresh foci in the nodular form. 

When some of the formations occur on the upper 
eyelid, where the iodin applications can not be made, 
powdered iodoform is pressed into the active area 
after the growths have been removed. 

In all cases it is well to apply the iodin over an area 
considerably larger than the seat of the trouble. 

Ring-worm disease should be considered by the vet- 
erinarian as a transmissible affection. Animals which 
have the disease should not be permitted to mingle 
with the herd in yard or pasture, and separate curry- 
combs and brushes should be used for them. 

If the disease is well established in the herd when 
the veterinarian assumes charge he should order the 
disinfection of the stable and then have all posts or 
other rubbing places either white-washed or painted. 
If prophylactic measures are ignored it may prove a 
difficult matter to stamp out the infection. As one 
case heals up another breaks out, and almost all of the 
herd may develop some degree of the trouble. 



ANTE PARTUM VAGINAL PROLAPSE 105 



ANTEPARTUM VAGINAL PROLAPSE 

This affection is not rare in dairy practice. 

It occurs only in cows which have given birth to 
several calves; never (or exceedingly rarely) in heif- 
ers. 

The condition occurs usually in a very typical man- 
ner, the only variation in a given number of cases be- 
ing the extent to which the vagina protrudes outside 
the vulva. This varies from a mass the size of an 
orange, consisting of the vaginal floor, to complete 
eversion of the vagina as far as the cervix or os uteri. 

The trouble first makes its appearance as a rounded, 
pinkish mass which can be seen forcing itself between 
the lips of the vulva when the cow is lying down. 
When the cow is standing the mass falls back into nor- 
mal position and can no longer be seen ; nor is it pos- 
sible, with the cow in the standing position, to detect 
the abnormality at this stage by vaginal examination. 

In some cases the condition does not change much, 
remaining as a small protrusion of the vaginal floor, 
that is visible only when the cow lies down. It is 
terminated with parturition. In other instances, how- 
ever, the case gradually increases in severity, the 
mass which protrudes slowly assumes greater dimen- 
sions; until towards the approach of parturition it 
causes some concern. From contact with the floor or 
edge of the gutter the mass becomes eroded in places. 
This causes the entire vaginal mucosa to become the 
seat of a low-grade inflammation. The eroded surfaces 
have been converted into foul-smelling ulcers, with 
the result that the cow strains frequently so that the 
mass now makes its appearance outside the vulva even 
when the cow is standing. If the cow does not give 



106 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

birth to her calf prematurely in these aggravated cases 
there is at least danger of an eversion of the uterus 
after parturition. 

In a small proportion of these cases the parturition 
proceeds normally without any accompanying mishaps, 
but the vaginal prolapse persists. In such cases the 
prolapse sometimes becomes more extensive than be- 
fore parturition and the constant straining finally is 
the cause of adding a degree of rectal eversion to the 
trouble. Only recently we saw a case of this kind. 

This cow had had a moderate vaginal prolapse be- 
fore calving. This persisted after calving and within 
ten days increased to complete eversion of the vagina 
to the os uteri, and an accompanying eversion of the 
rectum, protruding four or five inches outside the 
anus. 

In very mild forms of this condition no treatment 
is required. The cow does not seem to be inconven- 
ienced in any other respect and usually the trouble 
ends with parturition. If it is seen, however, that the 
mass is increasing in size treatment should not be de- 
layed. 

Before an intelligent treatment can be applied it is 
absolutely essential that the veterinarian make a care- 
ful vaginal and rectal examination. In this examina- 
tion we attempt to locate an abnormality in the region 
which might be responsible for the condition. 

First among these abnormalities stand concretions 
or a catarrhal condition in the sub-urethral diverticu- 
lum. Removal of exciting concretions or catarrhal dis- 
charges from the diverticulum, with following irriga- 
tions of mild astringent and antiseptic solutions satis- 
factorily terminate some cases. 

In other instances an ulcerative condition in the 
rectum is the direct cause. This must be found ; usual- 



ANTE PARTUM VAGINAL PROLAPSE 107 

ly it is not far from the anus. (In one case we saw a 
necro-ulcerative area affecting the rectal mucosa the 
size of a small hand.) This must be thoroughly cleaned 
and cauterized; laxatives and tonics prescribed and 
rectal irrigations persisted in until the area is healed. 
The vaginal prolapse disappears with the healing of 
the rectal lesion. 

Where neither the rectal trouble nor abnormalities 
in the sub-urethral fossa are found, good results fre- 
quently come from aiming treatment at vesical tenes- 
mus. Stramonium gives the best results in half-dram 
doses three times daily. A few doses of salol, about 
a dram each, in the beginning help to hasten results. 

In still other cases the most careful and thorough 
examination fails to disclose the cause of the pro- 
lapse and the condition resists all treatment; but in 
these and in fact in all cases acetanilid, in rather small 
doses (one to three drams) every three hours is some- 
times markedly palliative and will hold the straining 
in abeyance until the normal time for parturition ar- 
rives; when help must be given the animal to enable 
her to deliver the fetus. Usually the acetanilid will 
need to be given only every fourth to seventh day to 
prevent straining. 

In all cases, no matter what the abnormality pro- 
ducing the condition, the veterinarian must not neg- 
lect to treat the lesions in the vagina, such as ulcers 
or other injuries resulting from contact of the mass 
with the floor while the cow has been recumbent. 

When eversion of the vagina occurs in a marked de- 
gree in an aged cow in unthrifty condition it is, as a 
rule, a good plan to consign the animal to the can- 
nery. In the event that the owner requests that some- 
thing be done in such instances the treatment must in- 
clude measures aimed at the restoration of the general 



108 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

well-being, such as suitable tonic treatment, highly nu- 
tritious feeds and sanitary quarters. In most cases 
of this disease in old cows, however, the trouble and 
expense of treatment render inadvisable the attempt 
at a cure, that, even in exceptional cases, is usually 
only temporary or partial. The treatment of ante- 
partum vaginal prolapse requires the exercise of good 
judgment, from an economic standpoint, in many in- 
stances. 



EVERSION OF THE UTERUS 

Eversion of the uterus is always a very serious con- 
dition in cows. A complete eversion of the uterus pre- 
sents a most discouraging spectacle and in all veter- 
inary practice there is no condition presenting an ana- 
tomical displacement of more formidable proportions. 

There seems to be no fixed rule or combination of cir- 
cumstances for the occurrence of this accident in cows. 
The condition has been seen in range cattle as well as 
in dairy cattle. One possible explanation of an excit- 
ing cause might be an exceptionally heavy, and at the 
same time, completely attached placenta which induces 
excessive post-partum, expulsive acts. 

Aside from this I can point to no particular direct 
cause for this condition. In my experience most of 
these cases show eversion with the placenta firmly at- 
tached ; now and then an eversion occurs in which the 
after-birth has come off. I can recall several cases to 
which I was called wherein the cow was straining ab- 
normally, apparently in an effort to expel the secun- 
dines, which I am positive would have ultimately ter- 
minated in complete eversion of the uterus if their re- 
moval had not been promptly accomplished by manual 



EVERSION OF THE UTERUS 109 

extraction. In these cases eversion had already start- 
ed ; removal of the after-birth with proper flushing and 
swabbing immediately put an end to the trouble. 

The mortality in eversion of the uterus is governed 
by two chief causes. One is shock ; the other infection. 
But here again no fixed rule can be considered. Those 
of us who have seen many of these cases can recall 
deaths with the best of care and recoveries with the 
most outrageous handling. I recall one instance which 
was somewhat of a knocker to me when I first began 
practice. A farmer had a case of eversion of the 
uterus in a cow shortly before I located for practice. 
He "merely put it back in," hair, chaff, manure and 
everything else with it. The cow recovered without 
missing a feed. Some time after I located in his vicim 
ity he had another similar case and, like a good fellow, 
called me. I spent ten or fifteen minutes cleaning up 
the mass with every antiseptic precaution and delicacy 
before replacing it and gave the cow every care. She 
died in two or three days. I remember a number of 
similar incidents. 

However, this is no reason why we should allow our- 
selves to ignore scrupulous cleanliness in treating 
these cases. I merely mention it to show that recovery 
or death is not controlled by set rules. All we can 
reasonably say is that undoubtedly death was due to 
shock if the death occurred a relatively short time 
after the eversion took place, say, not more than ten 
or twelve hours. ' If the death occurred after a num- 
ber of days the cows no doubt succumbed to infection. 
To attempt to prognosticate this cause of probable 
death is evidence of a lack of experience with these 
cases. 

The treatment or handling of a case of this kind in 
a tactful, and at the same time, successful manner, re- 



110 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

quires the exercise of much good judgment on the 
veterinarian's part. In addition to this good judg- 
ment the veterinarian must "keep cool." Veterina- 
rians who never use a cuss-word at other times usually 
"cuss" just a little when they are engaged in correct- 
ing an eversion of the uterus. 

My plan of handling these cases is about as follows : 

I start with a hypodermic injection of morphin sul- 
phate, from four to six grains. I have a twofold pur- 
pose in this morphin injection. The first is to overcome 
sensibility to a certain extent ; the second is to counter- 
act shock. Morphin is now considered the most scien- 
tific remedy for combating existing shock. 

Having given the morphin injection I proceed to 
remove the after-birth if it is still attached. When this 
has been accomplished an attempt is made to cleanse 
the organ itself. When I say "an attempt is made" 
I mean that I do not go to extremes in this part of 
the performance. I have a pail full of antiseptic solu- 
tion into which I repeatedly dip the hands, slushing 
the contents wherever any foreign matter is seen on 
the parts. With a pail full of solution the cleaning can 
be accomplished thoroughly enough for all practical 
purposes. A clean sheet or rubber apron is placed 
under the uterus to keep it clean after the washing is 
completed. 

Up to this point in the proceedings no difficulties 
of moment are encountered. Now they begin. 

I make strenuous efforts to get the cow on her feet 
in every case after I get through cleaning up the uter- 
us, in those cases in which she is lying down. If she 
is standing up, of course, one is that much ahead. It 
is not always, possible to get the cow up, but it pays to 
make considerable effort to get her to arise because, 
if one succeeds in bringing her to her feet the reposi- 



EVERSION OF THE UTERUS 111 

lion of the mass is rendered fully fifty per cent easier. 

During the time that the cow is being urged to get 
up, and when she is in the act of getting up, the uterus 
must be protected from again becoming soiled. This 
is best done by wrapping it entirely in the sheet or 
rubber apron. When the standing position has been 
attained have the cow moved in such a way that the 
fore-quarters will be considerably lower than the hind. 
This is not absolutely essential, but it helps to make 
the replacement easier. 

With an attendant holding the tail out of the way 
and another man supporting the mass in the sheet or 
apron, the veterinarian begins the inversion by firmly 
grasping around the portion closest to the vulva with 
both hands and forcing it firmly, yet not roughly, into 
the vulva. At the same time the attendant holding 
the pendant portion of the mass should "follow up" 
with it. When the veterinarian has the portion in his 
grasp forced into the vulva opening, he must not re- 
lease his grip at once, but slowly, with a sort of "feed- 
ing in" motion, and all the time holding in place by 
forward pressure what he has already replaced, he 
grasps again with both hands. Sometimes, if the cow 
strains severely, only one hand at a time is changed for 
a new grasp. This is repeatedly gone through until 
enough of the mass has been pushed in so that the 
attendant finds he has nothing left to hold. The veter- 
inarian now places the doubled fist of one hand in the 
center of the mass still outside of the canal and by ap- 
propriate pressure completes the inversion, following 
in the full length of his arm and straightening out the 
"kinks" as much as possible. The pushing, during the 
entire process, must be done during the straining in- 
tervals ; that is, while the cow is in the act of straining 
the veterinarian holds his ground. Then, just at the 



112 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

moment when the cow relaxes from each strain, is the 
time to accomplish something. 

This I have found the best and safest method for in- 
verting an everted uterus. I have tried other meth- 
ods, such as have been recommended from time to 
time by various writers, but find this the best. 

If one fails to get the cow on her feet he is com- 
pelled to accomplish his object in a very awkward and 
tiresome position, and usually to complete the reposi- 
tion, must lie flat. Besides, the resistance to inversion 
is greater in the recumbent position. In the stand- 
ing position the last portion of the mass literally falls 
into place. 

In some cases matters are expedited considerably 
by smearing the vulva and its surroundings thickly 
with vaseline. 

When inversion has been accomplished nothing in 
the line of a retaining appliance is necessary if the cow 
is standing up at the time. Straining after reposition 
is usually due to "kinks," and will not occur if the 
cow is standing at the time of the replacement. If 
the cow is down at the time of replacement it is a 
difficult matter to properly straighten these "kinks" 
and straining usually occurs. 

Even in the latter cases I use no retaining appli- 
ances. I make ever effort to get the cow on her feet 
as soon as the organ is in place and then have her 
placed with the hindquarters raised. 

Sutures through the vulva, rope trusses and other 
appliances have little value. I never use them. When 
a cow strains after I have replaced the mass I know 
that there is still a portion of it being pinched by a 
partial inversion. If it cannot be reached with the 
hand and forced into normal position the best plan 
is to pump the cavity full of warm antiseptic solution. 



STRANGUARY FROM CONCRETIONS 113 

The straining will stop as soon as the "kinks" 
straighten out. 

Tonics are to be given as after-treatment, and al- 
ways a prophylactic dose of mixed bacterius to fore- 
stall infection. The treatment of various complica- 
tions or sequelae is left to the professional judgment 
of the attending veterinarian. 



STRANGUARY FROM CONCRETIONS IN THE 
SUBURETHRAL DIVERTICULUM 

This is a condition which occurs in cows of mod- 
erate and old age and may become evident in some 
cases within a month or two after a difficult parturi- 
tion. The latter form is probably the result of uterine 
discharges or debris, such as hair, being forced into 
the diverticulum during the difficult labor and acting 
as an excitant to its lining membrane. The resulting 
catarrhal excretions collect around the debris as a 
nucleus, forming sometimes in the course of two 
months, a concrete mass of the size of a hen egg. 

In other instances the concretion may be due to 
ihe collection and inspissation of catarrhal discharges 
from no particular cause. 

These concretions have the appearance of and are of 
nearly the consistency of coffee grounds. Here and 
there in the mass can be seen white flakes which are 
somewhat firmer than the other portions. 

The elaboration and retention of concretions in the 
suburethral diverticulum produces no objective symp- 
toms until the mass has attained sufficient dimension 
to interfere with the exit of urine from the urethra. 
When this stage has been reached the cow does not 
urinate quite as freely as she should; she requires a 



114 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

little more time than usual to complete the act, and 
instead of the normal gushing flow it is seen that the 
urine comes in spurts, an ounce or two at a time. This 
may go on for several weeks without attracting much 
attention from the owner, and without increasing in 
severity to any great extent. 

This condition persists for a variable period depend- 
ing upon the rapidity with which the mass is growing 
in size, and then it suddenly assumes an alarming char- 
acter. The veterinarian is called and he finds a case 
about as follows: 

The cow appears in acute pain, constantly getting 
up and lying down. When up, she paws and kicks 
at the abdomen. She ignores her feed. So far it 
looks like a case of colic. It is now noticed that a 
very thin stream of urine is almost constantly escap- 
ing from the vulva. Every few moments the cow as- 
sumes the position for micturition but the stream of 
urine which she succeeds in ejecting is very small. 
The vulva is agape and appears congested. 

As the symptoms now point to a local trouble in 
the vagina the veterinarian makes an examination 
here. The hand is passed in, and when it has entered 
as far as the knuckles the finger tips come in contact 
with what at first is taken for some sort of a cauli- 
flower growth. It seems to stick straight upwards 
and backwards and is movable. While the fingers are 
feeling for anatomical land-marks a jet of urine shoots 
up from behind the enlargement and the diagnosis is 
readily made. If the hand is passed into the vaginal 
canal somewhat deeper the veterinarian discovers that 
the bladder is filled to the limit of its capacity. 

The treatment consists of mechanical removal of 
the concretions. Usually it is necessary to begin the 
removal with a blunt curette. After a good start has 



DOUGLASS' POUCH CYST 115 

been made with the curette the removal can be com- 
pleted with the finger. 

Immediately the mass has been removed the cow 
urinates normally and begins to eat. All signs of 
acute pain disappear instantly, although the cow may 
strain slightly for some time. A few small doses of 
fluid extract of stramonium suffice to overcome the lat- 
ter. Stramonium seems to have a selective action on 
the parts responsible for symptoms referable to ves- 
ical irritation. 

DOUGLASS' POUCH CYST 

Cyst formation in the loose tissues between the 
rectum and vagina is a pathological condition which 
occurs chiefly in young cows and heifers. Unless the 
veterinarian is a close observer and makes it a rule to 
include a rectal examination in his diagnostic efforts, 
especially in cases pointing towards bowel trouble, he 
frequently fails to recognize the exact manifestations 
of this condition. A superficial system of diagnosis 
usually confuses the symptoms of a cyst in the pouch 
of Douglass with colic. 

A cyst in this region may attain enormous dimen- 
sions, containing on occasions a gallon of fluid. No 
symptoms are produced, however, until the cyst has 
assumed such size that it mechanically interferes with 
defecation or micturition. 

When this stage has been reached the veterinarian 
is usually called in,* and he finds the animal present- 
ing some symptoms of an ordinary colic. There are 
some points of differentiation, hoivever. The chief 
one is that the cow keeps her tail raised almost con- 
stantly, and repeatedly strains, apparently in attempts 
at defecation. No feces are passed, however, and if 



116 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

the case is of long standing or has been neglected, 
there may be the beginning of an eversion of the rec- 
tum. 

The cow is considerably distressed, breathing rapid- 
ly, and sometimes moaning while in the act of strain- 
ing. She stands up and lies down at intervals, and 
when lying down she usually stretches out, flat on her 
side, moaning and straining. In nearly all cases there 
is a marked degree of tympanites. 

The diagnosis can be made only from examination 
per rectum. When the hand is passed into the rec- 
tum it will not enter more than the length of the fin- 
gers, or, at most, to the wrist. The floor of the rectum 
is pushed up in the form of a smoothly rounded swell- 
ing so that it is in contact with the sacral region. The 
first thought which this arouses in the surgeon's mind 
is of a fully distended urinary bladder. However, 
when he passes the catheter and withdraws the urine 
from the bladder, he discovers that the swelling in 
the rectum has not diminished a particle. The diag- 
nosis of a cyst is therefore certain and the treatment 
comes up for consideration. 

The treatment of these cases is entirely surgical and 
is confined to tapping the cyst, allowing the contents 
to escape. In most cases the cyst content is a watery, 
yellowish, odorless fluid ; if it were not free from odor 
it might pass for urine as far as appearance goes. 

The best results are obtained by tapping the cyst 
through the floor of the rectum. A trocar and canula 
and a piece of rubber tubing is all that is required. 
The best trocar for this purpose is an ordinary horse 
trocar, such as is used in tapping the cecum. The 
rubber tubing should be of such calibre that it passes 
over the head of the canula easily. 

The operation is best performed with the cow in 



DOUGLASS' POUCH CYST 117 

the standing position, with a rope adjusted above both 
hocks to prevent the veterinarian from being kicked 
when the trocar is thrust into the cyst. 

After having copiously anointed the anus and rec- 
tum with a lubricant, such as vaseline or lard, the 
trocar and canula guarded in the hand is passed into 
the rectum. The point of the trocar is set at a place 
about one inch higher than the normal floor of the 
rectum, directing it towards the cow's sternum, and 
plunging it into the cyst with one thrust to the depth 
of two or three inches. 

The trocar is drawn out of the canula as soon as 
the cow has ceased struggling. The cyst contents 
spurt through the canula immediately and into the 
rectum as long as the veterinarian protects the mouth 
of the canula with his hand. When he withdraws his 
hand the rectal folds either envelop the mouth of the 
canula and shut off the flow, or under the influence 
of the rectal tenesmus the canula is pushed too far 
into the cyst. To obviate this we slip the rubber tub- 
ing over the end of the canula after withdrawing the 
trocar, leaving one end hanging out of the rectum. 

When the fluid begins to run out more slowly pres- 
sure exerted on the cyst, with one hand in the rectum 
and the other in the vagina, is applied with success 
in entirely emptying the cyst. The canula is then with- 
drawn with a quick jerk. 

No further attention need be given the case. Relief 
is instantaneous and lasting. The animal begins to 
eat and is entirely normal at once, unless the case 
had been neglected; when it may be necessary to ad- 
minister a laxative to overcome constipation which 
has developed. 

In our experience one thorough draining is all that 
is necessary; the cyst does not become distended with 
fluid a second time. 



118 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 



PHYMOSIS 

Phymosis, or imprisonment of the penis in the 
sheath, occurs in bulls as a distinct clinical phenom- 
enon. Aside from direct injuries there are probably 
two chief reasons for the frequency of its occurrence. 
One is the fact that micturition is commonly performed 
in the sheath without protruding the penis; the other 
is the superabundance of long, heavy hair at the pre- 
putial orifice. The anatomical proportionment of 
loose, flabby tissue around the prepuce is not ample, 
allowing but little space for infiltration with inflam- 
matory exudates and fluids. Even moderate swelling 
in the prepuce of the bull markedly diminishes the 
size of the opening which is normally not very large 
in a relative sense. The presence of the hairy tuft 
which surrounds and depends from the orifice favors 
the retention of filth and the development of infec- 
tions. 

Phymosis makes its appearance, usually, in a rather 
rapid manner. A firm, rounded swelling is seen along 
the sheath, from the orifice to ten or twelve inches 
posteriorly. When fully developed the swelling may 
involve the subcutaneous tissues in front of the sheath 
so that the orifice appears to lie flat against the ab- 
domen. 

There is a discharge of muco-purulent matter or 
even of thick pus, which sticks to the hair around the 
parts, making, before long, a matted, filthy barrier to 
drainage. 

If the swelling is of sufficient intensity to seriously 
interfere with micturition the bull shows mild colicky 
pains as a result of distention of the urinary bladder. 
If the condition has been neglected for several days 



PHYMOSIS 119 

the pains increase in severity, the respirations are hur- 
ried and shallow, the temperature rises several degrees 
and the animal refuses its feed. A bull suffering from 
a well developed phymosis is a sorry brute to look 
upon. 

The treatment of phymosis is quite satisfacory and a 
favorable termination is the rule. 

While it may considerably facilitate the handling 
of the parts we do not advise that the animal be cast. 
Jt is not possible to determine the extent of the dis- 
tention of the urinary bladder and there may be danger 
of rupturing the bladder by casting the animal. At 
least, the first treatment should be given in the stand- 
ing position. When the condition has been sufficiently 
relieved to permit of micturition the animal can be 
cast for subsequent handling if conditions exist which 
require it. Usually, however, it is unnecessary to cast 
the patient if the manipulations called for are per- 
formed in a gentle and painstaking manner. 

The treatment begins with cutting away the hair 
in the region of the preputial orifice, for which pur- 
pose an ordinary curved scissors answers very well. 
All filth and adhering discharges are then to be thor- 
oughly removed by means of warm antiseptic washes. 
The latter must not be too active; the parts are nor- 
mally very sensitive and this state of sensitiveness is 
all the more marked under the influence of the patho- 
logical condition. If mercury bichlorid is used, a 1 to 
4000 solution is ample. When the mouth of the orifice 
and its immediate surroundings have been thus 
cleansed the interior of the sheath must be copiously 
irrigated with warm antiseptic solutions. In our hands 
we have had fine results from solutions of potassium 
permanganate here. Half a dram of the crystals dis- 
solved in a quart of warm water makes about the prop- 



120 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

er strength solution to begin with. As the acute stage 
disappears the strength can be gradually increased, 
until towards the end of the treatment a dram of the 
crystals can be used to a quart of water. 

To make these irrigations effective it is almost 
absolutely necessary to use a fountain syringe. 

It may be difficult in some cases to use any style 
of syringe successfully unless a very small nozzle is 
used. The opening in the sheath has closed to such 
an extent that a thick nozzle will not permit the re- 
turn now of the fluid. Several quarts of antiseptic 
solution should be used at each irrigation and the 
irrigations are to be repeated at least three times 
daily. If the proper strength antiseptic is used and 
the irrigations are thoroughly carried out, marked im- 
provement is evident after two or three applications. 
If the treatment is persisted in conscientiously, with 
appropriate internal treatment, for three or four days, 
the irrigations are only necessary once or twice daily 
for another two or three days thereafter, when the 
case can usually be considered cured. Even very 
severe cases of phymosis can be carried to a suc- 
cessful termination in from a week to ten days. 

We have never found it necessary to make sur- 
gical incisions for drainage, nor to enlarge the orifice 
so as to permit the use of larger syringe nozzles. 
Gentle, patient manipulations usually suffice to ac- 
complish the desired end. 

For the internal treatment we can highly recom- 
mend doses of phenyl salicylate half a dram to a dram, 
with fluid extract of belladonna half a dram and fluid 
extract saw palmetto half an ounce. Three such doses 
are given daily for two or three days and once or 
twice daily thereafter, until the case is discharged. 

If the case should come into the veterinarian's hands 



ACUTE, SIMPLE AGALACTIA 121 

in a precarious condition from retention of the urine, 
so that danger of losing the animal's life were immi- 
nent, we would recommend tapping the bladder 
through the rectum as the first procedure. 



ACUTE, SIMPLE AGALACTIA 

In dairy cows a condition frequently occurs which 
can only be described as an acute, simple agalactia. 

This trouble is usually sporadic in nature, affecting 
a single cow now and then without any apparent 
cause. 

The history in these caess is nearly always the same. 
A cow that is otherwise a good milker suddenly gives 
only about half the usual quantity and at the very 
next milking is almost completely dry. In every other 
respect the animal appears normal; eats well, drinks, 
appears bright and well. Quite careful examination 
on the part of the. attending veterinarian fails to de- 
tect any abnormality of value from a diagnostic stand- 
point. 

It is usual to suspect something wrong with the feed, 
but this suspicion is discarded because all the other 
cows in the herd are getting the same feed and are 
not affected. 

Apparently this is a condition induced by trophic 
nerve disturbance of an obscure character. It is al- 
ways a purely functional disease; no inflammatory or 
congestive signs occur in the udder which can be de- 
termined clinically. The one and only symptom is 
the absence of lacteal fluid. 

The treatment of this condition is based wholly on 
this aspect of the pathology of the disease — namely: 
that it is a purely functional abnormality, and the 



122 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

treatment is very successful. It is quite important 
that the case be taken in hand promptly because, to a 
great extent, the degree of functionating which again 
develops as a result of the treatment depends upon 
the length of time that the glands have been idle. A 
case of this kind properly treated within a day or 
two after the milk secretion stops will usually come 
up to the normal output of milk again. 

The treatment consists wholly of the administration 
of two well known alkaloids, pilocarpin and strychnin. 

Pour grains of pilocarpin hydro-chlorid and two and 
a half grains of strychnin sulphate are dissolved in 
a pint of water. This is divided into three doses, 
one to be given orally every three hours. 

Nothing further is required and usually the glands 
resume their function promptly. Changed feed or 
special feed does not seem to hasten recovery in these 
cases. The fact that such feeds which are in. ordinary 
cases more or less of a galactogogue have no effect in 
this disease is further evidence that we are dealing 
here with a trophic nerve disturbance more than any- 
thing else. 



MASTITIS— MAMMIT1S 123 



MASTITIS— MAMMITIS 

These terms are applied indiscriminately to acnte 
inflammatory conditions attacking the mammary 
gland. 

Mastitis or mammitis is serious because of its eco- 
nomic import in dairy cattle and the veterinarian's 
efforts in treating this disease are concerned chiefly 
with conserving the function of the gland. Almost 
without exception, even with approved treatment and 
most careful handling, severe attacks of mastitis ulti- 
mately impair the function of the gland involved. 

For the purpose of this discussion we shall ignore 
the various forms of mastitis which are looked upon 
as specific in character, such as infectious mastitis, 
tubercular mastitis, and so on. We shall concern our- 
selves solely with what we would term sporadic mas- 
titis, that form which is always seen in isolated in- 
stances in cows which are being heavily fed for milk 
production. Sporadic mastitis makes its appearance 
most frequently in heavy milkers and is probably most 
common in the first two months after calving. 

Most cases begin with a chill which, after variable 
periods of time, terminates in rigors confined to the 
posterior part of the body. The cow refuses all feed 
and appears generally indisposed. There is usually 
constipation and the temperature is but one or two 
degrees above normal. (This is a good clinical point 
of differentiation between sporadic and infectious 
forms of mastitis — namely: that in sporadic mastitis 
the temperature is raised only a trifle; in infectious 
forms fever runs high.) In nearly all cases there is 
some stiffness in one hind leg which could almost be 
called a lameness. In the early stages the local signs 



124 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

of inflammation are usually confined to one quarter 
of the udder ; later both quarters on one side, or both 
front or rear quarters, may be involved. In rare 
cases the entire udder is involved. 

In sporadic mastitis the part involved is the seat of 
a uniform, firm swelling which is very painful under 
manipulation. There is considerable local heat and 
the skin over the quarters involved appears much red- 
dened and tense. The lacteal secretion is diminished; 
in some cases it is almost completely suspended. "When 
the veterinarian strips the teat on the affected quar- 
ter to ascertain the character of the secretion, he finds 
that the first spurt or two has the appearance of 
water into which a drop or two of fluid extract of 
nux vomica has been dissolved. Following this the fluid 
that is stripped out has more the appearance of milk, 
but it contains clots and flakes. Cows that are other- 
wise gentle and kind milkers will resist handling of 
the parts affected. 

If the condition is not promptly and judiciously 
treated, pus formation and abscesses may supervene. 

Before taking up the treatment of mastitis we would 
like to impress upon the reader our understanding of 
the term "infectious mastitis." By infectious mas- 
titis we understand that form of this disease which is 
more or less readily communicated to other cows. We 
make this point clear so that the reader may not get 
the impression that we consider sporadic mastitis idio- 
pathic. Sporadic mastitis is usually due to infection 
with micro-organisms of the pus-producing group, but 
it is not infectious in the sense of transmissibility or 
contagion. 

The treatment of sporadic mastitis at the present 
time includes a great variety of remedial procedures. 
It can safely be said that there is at the present time 



MASTITIS— MAMMITIS 125 

no generally practiced or accepted method of treat- 
ment. Nearly every veterinarian has his own ideas 
and method of treating this condition. In our own 
practice we have had recourse to a considerable num- 
ber of therapeutic measures such as have been recom- 
mended from time to time, and we confess that we 
have not been very successful in treating mastitis with 
any of them. Neither have we been able to work 
out a uniformly successful treatment of our own. 
While we are able to obtain moderately satisfactory 
results in most cases, we can not say that we have a 
treatment for this disease which is equal to the de- 
mands made upon it by the condition. "We mean by 
this that we are not quite sure of our success in pre- 
venting interference with the function of the gland. 
It is by this success— namely : that the cow may be as 
good a milk producer after the attack as before— that 
the real value of treatment is measured. 

As we said in beginning, mastitis is important from 
an economic standpoint chiefly because.it has a tend- 
ency to permanently interfere with the output of milk. 
It is not an exceptionally difficult matter to subdue 
the acute manifestations of the disease; but it is a 
very difficult matter to so conduct the treatment that 
the gland may escape permanent impairment of func- 
tion. 

The method of treatment which has given us the 
best results begins with a cathartic dose of arecolin 
or eserin. The earlier in the attack this cathartic is 
given the more gratifying the results. 

Following on this, hot fomentations are ordered ap- 
plied to the affected gland, at least fifteen minutes 
out of every hour, for twelve or fifteen hours. The 
affected quarter is to be gently milked out each time 
before applying the hot water. Also, during the same 



126 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

period, we order that a dose be given every two hours 
consisting of a half ounce of sodium bicarbonate and 
of fluid extract taraxacum and of rhubarb, each an 
ounce. 

At the end of this twelve or fifteen hour period 
the cow is usually quite comfortable and the acute 
manifestations of the disease are well under control. 

With this, as with all other treatments which we 
have used, the case has now assumed a sort of mediocre 
or sub-acute status. While the animal is free from 
pain, eats well and is apparently on the road to a 
rapid recovery, we find that from now on progress is 
slow. In this stage we use an ointment of Phytolacca 
locally and potassium iodid internally, continuing both 
for a week at least. It is not rare to meet with 
cases of this disease which are exceptionally stubborn 
towards recovery and the veterinarian's skill as a 
physician is taxed to the limit before he succeeds in 
conquering them. In such cases polyvalent bacterins 
frequently do much good. 

The cow should be on half rations during the en- 
tire treatment. 



ATRESIA OF THE LACTEAL DUCT 127 



ATRESIA OF THE LACTEAL DUCT 

Atresia of the lacteal duct is commonly termed teat 
stricture. The occlusion is usually a partial one, 
rarely complete. The seat of stricture or closure may 
be at the teat orifice, along the course of the duct, or 
at the proximal end of the duct where it emerges from 
the sinus lactiferus. 

When the stricture is located at the apex, or near 
the distal end, the milk enters the teat quite readily 
but difficulty is experienced in squeezing it out; the 
stream is very thin, or it squirts in several directions. 

When the stricture is farther up, or at the proximal 
end, difficulty is experienced in getting the milk to fill 
up the teat; after- the teat is filled it is ejected easily. 

In rare cases, which may occur in heifers, there is 
a true atresia or closure of the duct orifice in the end 
of the teat. There is only a slight pit or depression 
in the epithelium, at the point where the duct nor- 
mally emerges, but the epithelium is not perforated. 

With two exceptions, strictures of the teat have an 
unfavorable prognosis. One exception is that form 
occurring at the very extremity or external orifice of 
the duct; the other exception is that form appearing 
as a true atresia in heifers. 

In the various forms involving the duct higher up 
and at its proximal end the treatment is not very 
well understood nor accompanied by satisfactory re- 
sults. Of course, there are cases of the latter variety 
occasionally which have a satisfactory termination, 
but they are rare. The treatment which is in vogue 
for these conditions (and to all appearances as good 
as we can do) is fraught with danger from the stand- 



128 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

point of sequelae, of which mastitis is the most im- 
portant. 

The various operations which have been recom- 
mended and quite thoroughly tried out, as well as the 
different types of bistuories and dilators, have not 
proven of much value in general practice. It is al- 
most an absolute necessity to have hospital facilities 
for the proper and conscientious performance of the 
measures required to correct a high stricture in the 
lacteal duct. It is decidedly humiliating for the vet- 
erinarian in general practice to see a severe mastitis 
succeeding manipulations for the correction of a con- 
dition which, to the farmer, seems a trivial matter. 

In our practice we refuse to treat a high stricture 
of the teat until w T e have clearly explained to the owner 
what the chances are. We make it clear to him that 
rarely is any form of interference attended with re- 
sults which are so satisfactory as to warrant the at- 
tempt; that in many instances a severe mastitis, which 
will probably destroy the quarter, will supervene. If, 
after this warning, he is still willing to submit the cow 
to treatment, we attempt dilatation, and in some cases 
incision of the stricture. We have not enough faith in 
any procedure for the correction of this condition, 
with which we are familiar, to give it space here. 

In those cases which involve the apex or distal end 
of the duct we can obtain good results with fair regu- 
larity. We- have met with two forms of the condition 
in this part of the duct. One form is a true stricture 
or narrowing of the lumen of the duct, probably as the 
result of infectious or other inflammatory processes. 
In this form we are able to obtain good results from 
dilatation. It is not very important how this dilata- 
tion is accomplished, so that it is done aseptically and 
bloodlessly. We use an ordinary teat dilator, repeat- 



ATRESIA OF THE LACTEAL DUCT 129 

ing the stretching every few days. The best method is 
to dilate and allow the duct to collapse repeatedly, 
from six to ten times at each treatment. Insert the 
dilator, expand it as far as indicated, and then hold 
it there for one or Iwo minutes; take it out, wait a 
couple of minutes, and repeat. Do this from six to 
eight times at each sitting, and in a few days again. 
Three to five of these courses of stretching accomplish 
the desired result. 

The other form which we can also treat successfully 
is a narrowing of the orifice of the duct from collec- 
tions of evaporated mucus or similar concretions. 
These collect just inside the edge of the orifice and are 
of the consistency of dry putty. When an instrument 
is passed over them, a faint, scraping sound can be 

detected. 

They are to be very gently removed with a small 
eye curette or an ear spoon, and the parts are then to 
be given an application of glycerin by means of a 

cotton swab. 

Cases of true atresia of the distal end of the lacteal 
duct which occur occasionally in heifers can also be 
treated with very satisfactory results. The duct is per- 
fect except for the appearance of the orifice through 

the skin. . 

When the teat has been thoroughly cleansed, the 
pointed stilet of an exploring trocar is used to punc- 
ture the skin. This puncture is made exactly in the 
center of the pit, which is always present, and just 
deep enough so that the point penetrates the skin. 
With slight pressure, but not enough to cause the stilet 
to enter deeper, it is turned from right to left, and 
from left to right a few times. It is then withdrawn 
and laid aside. A small sharp curette is now used 
to enlarge the opening until it is of such size that a 



130 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

milk tube will readily pass through it into the duet. 
A little pressure may at first be necessary to enter 
the point of the tube in the duct. 

A small strip of gauze saturated with glycerin is 
then forced a short distance into the duct and allowed 
to remain, with an inch or so protruding. This strip 
of gauze is removed after twenty-four hours and the 
heifer milked regularly. 

The restraint for this operation is always to be in 
the recumbent position. If the operation is deftly per- 
formed it is practically bloodless. 

In heifers this operation should be performed just 
before or immediately after calving. 

We would call the veterinarian's attention again, 
before closing the discussion, to what has been said, 
about high strictures of the teat. Our experience is 
that the veterinarian can serve his client best in most 
of those cases by advising that the condition be left 
alone, letting that particular quarter go dry. 



LACTEAL FISTULA 131 



LACTEAL FISTULA 



Lacteal fistula appears in various locations on teats 
and udder. The most common seat of a lacteal fistula 
is on the teat over the course of the lacteal duct. 

Most lacteal fistulas are of traumatic origin; occa- 
sionally abscess formation in mastitis may leave a per- 
manent opening in the udder through which milk es- 
capes. 

In rare cases rudimentary teats near the base of a 
teat may develop a permanent opening, allowing a 
constant dripping of milk. Some cases have occurred 
in our practice which resulted from cutting off rudi- 
mentary teats. The animals were pure-bred cows and 
the owner feared that the rudimentary teats would 
detract from their showing qualities. He snipped off 
the rudimentary teats with scissors. Evidently the 
teats contained a lacteal duct, which continued to drip 
milk constantly, after being cut through. 

A lacteal fistula is difficult to heal when chronic, es- 
pecially while the gland is active. The proper time to 
undertake the cure of a lacteal fistula which has been 
in existence for a month or longer is when the cow 
"goes dry." While it is possible to obtain good re- 
sults while the cow is being milked, no certain prom- 
ises of a favorable outcome should be made. 

In cases which are of less than one month's standing, 
good results can be obtained at any time. The treat- 
ment which we recommend is the same for recent 
and for chronic cases— the only point differentiating 
one from the other being the time when the treatment 
i s use a— namely : in chronic cases only during the in- 
terval between lactation periods; in recent cases, at 
any time. To apply the treatment properly the cow 



132 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

should be cast, unless she happens to be a very gentle 
one. 

The affected teat is to be washed thoroughly with 
soap and warm water and then dried and a local anes- 
thetic used. A milk tube, of the self-retaining variety, 
and of sufficient length to reach the whole length of 
the teat, is then inserted. With a small, sharp curette 
the walls and edges of the fistulous opening are now 
thoroughly scarified, and any indurated tissues on the 
surface edges are removed. When this has been thor- 
oughly accomplished all hemorrhage, which is some- 
times considerable, must be controlled by pressure and 
wiping, before the next step is taken. 

When the hemorrhage has ceased, at least so far 
that it amounts to only a slight oozing, the wound is 
given a light application of tincture of iodin with a 
cotton swab and applicator. 

The last step consists of snugly wrapping the entire 
teat with layer after layer of gauze strip, interposing 
between each a coating of pine tar. A two-inch gauze 
bandage is about right. 

We first apply a coat of pine tar directly on the 
teat around its entire surface from top to bottom. We 
then begin bandaging on top of this, and, as the band- 
age is applied, we apply a coat of the tar after each 
lap, until about seven or eight layers of both tar and 
bandage have been applied. The bandage must be 
drawn just "good and snug," not too tight nor too 
loose. The milk tube is yet in the duct and allow- 
ance must be made for it — namely: that the bandage 
will be "just snug" when the tube is pulled out of the 
teat. When seven or eight turns of the gauze bandage 
have been applied, it is tied, or sewed, to the last turn. 
Another layer of tar is then applied over all. 



LACTEAL FISTULA 133 

The milk tube is now removed and the cow allowed 
to get up. 

In recent cases this bandage may be removed at the 
end of ten days or two weeks, when the fistula is 
usually entirely healed. In chronic cases three to four 
weeks should elapse before removing the bandage. 
The removal of the bandage is facilitated by first satu- 
rating with alcohol, after which it may be unwound 
gently. If the layer in contact with the teat sticks 
tenaciously it should merely be saturated with alcohol 
and then allowed to drop off of its own accord, a thing 
it will do after a few days. . 

The above is not an ideal or very scientific perform- 
ance, but "it works" every time if the bandaging is 
correctly done. 

In our hands, classical surgical procedures have been 
failures in this condition. 

Lacteal fistulas resulting from meddling with a rudi- 
mentary teat or from a rudimentary teat which has 
begun to leak can only be cured by direct surgical 
interference. 

In such cases the cow is cast, and the region of the 
fistula is thoroughly cleansed with soap and warm 
water, and rinsed with antiseptic solutions. The 
mouth of the opening or fistula is then swabbed thor- 
oughly dry with cotton and a local anesthetic injected. 
The rudimentary duct is now grasped on one side of 
its edge with rat-tooth forceps and dissected loose from 
the wall of the teat or udder. A new hold is repeat- 
edly taken with the forceps, around the entire circum- 
ference of the duct, and the duct dissected inward to 
a distance of at least half an inch. Great care must be 
taken not to prick through the duct with the point or 
edge of the knife. 



134 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

When the duct is dissected free from its surround- 
ings to the depth of half an inch, a catgut ligature is 
applied around it, close to the proximal end. Just be- 
fore the ligature is tied, the duct is swabbed with tur- 
pentine, the latter for the purpose of setting up an irri- 
tation to hasten the formation of adhesions. The ex- 
ternal wound is treated as an injury and heals 
promptly. 

Unless the operator has been unclean in this opera- 
tion the results will be all that can be expected. 

The ligature requires no attention, and all trace of 
the fistulous opening gradually disappears. The tur- 
pentine swab must not be forced into the duct too far, 
as in that event it may do harm in the glandular por- 
tion. Some rudimentary teats appear to obtain their 
duet directly from the acini instead of from the sinus 
lactiferus. 



VARIOLA 135 



VARIOLA (Cow Pox) 

This disease, in cattle, runs a mild course in nearly 
every instance and, in this country, may be looked 
upon as being confined almost wholly to the udder. 
Now and then a case occurs in which the animal shows 
slight systemic derangement. 

The disease affects sometimes only a few animals in 
a herd ; at other times none escape the infection. This 
feature is probably influenced to a great extent by the 
sanitary or insanitary methods of milking in vogue on 
different farms. 

The first symptom is soreness, or tenderness, evinced 
when the cow is milked. The teat or teats feel hot 
and slightly swollen. Soon after this, nodules develop 
on the teats and on the udder of about the size of peas, 
usually. In a day or two these become vesicles of a 
bluish or purplish color. The vesicles break down, 
leaving under them the characteristic pox "pit," show- 
ing granulations. The tissues immediately around the 
pit are injected and tender. Soon the pit becomes 
covered with a scab, which drops off in four or five 
days, and the disease has run its course. 

If the milking is not done in a cleanly and gentle 
manner while the pit is yet uncovered, extensive ulcers 
sometimes form. 

The vesicles do not all appear at the same time and 
several weeks may elapse before any one cow is en- 
tirely free from lesions. The infection frequently is 
contracted by the persons doing the milking. Pim- 
ples, which break down and end in scab formation, 
appear on the hands and wrists. They heal kindly and 
usually cause no other trouble. 



136 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

The most important point as regards the treatment 
of variola in cows is the observation of cleanliness and 
gentle manipulation of the teat in milking. If the 
teat contains a great number of vesicles a milking 
tube should be used. 

Scab formation can be hastened by touching the pits 
with a saturated solution of potassium permanganate. 
If extensive ulceration occurs, the parts are to be 
painted after each milking with a mixture of one part 
tincture iodin and three parts tincture benzoin com- 
pound. The number of cases in an outbreak can often 
be limited if cows affected are milked last, thus avoid- 
ing direct transmission of the disease. 



CHAPPED OR CRACKED TEATS 137 



CHAPPED OR CRACKED TEATS 

This condition varies from slight degrees of ery- 
thema to extensive involvement of the sub-dermal 
tissues. 

When the condition has been allowed to become 
chronic so that the teat is the seat- of deep cracks or 
fissures it may prove quite resistant to treatment. The 
repeated stretching and other manipulations to which 
the teat is subjected during the process of milking 
greatly hinders the healing process. 

When the condition is confined to the superficial skin 
good results can be obtained from compound tincture 
of benzoin applied with a camel's-hair brush after milk- 
ing. Three or four days of such treatment effects a 
cure. In those cases which are of long standing and 
in which cracks and fissures of considerable depth are 
present, we have obtained the best results from solu- 
tions of chinosol in 1 to 1000 strength. After each 
milking a cup or a tumbler is filled with the solution 
into which the affected teat is plunged, holding the cup 
or the tumbler so that its rim rests against the udder. 
At least five minutes should be consumed in the bath 
in this manner, after each milking. 

In many quite severe chronic cases three or four of 
these baths or soakings produce a marked improve- 
ment and a week of such treatment usually suffices 
to bring complete healing. In exceptionally severe 
cases it may help to hasten matters if the cracks are 
first lightly cauterized with a mild solution of silver 
nitrate. 

In occasional cases, those usually termed "sore" 
teats, the lesions are arranged in patches, some of 



138 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

them running almost entirely around the teat. In 
these cases there is a tendency toward scab forma- 
tion and, occasionally, ulceration. In this form we 
begin the treatment with an application of one part 
tincture benzoin compound in three parts glycerin, 
applying it frequently during the day with a soft 
brush. The glycerin softens and dissolves the scabs, 
and leaves a healthy looking sore. The treatment is 
then terminated with the chinosol baths. 

In very obstinate or severe cases of chapped, cracked 
or sore teats, it may be impossible to effect a cure 
unless a milk tube is used in place of milking by 
hand. 



PNEUMONIA 139 



PNEUMONIA 

For this disease in cattle we would prefer the word 
pneumonitis, because from the standpoint of treatment 
the word pneumonitis is specific. The veterinarian in 
daily practice who comes actually in contact with this 
disease in cattle does not pay much attention to the 
particular form of pneumonia a given patient may be 
afflicted with. To the practicing veterinarian pneu- 
monia is an inflammation of the lungs, pneumonitis, 
and that is sufficient for practical purposes. 

Probably a minority of the actively practicing vet- 
erinarians, although they treat, successfully, several 
dozen cases of pneumonia each season, can differentiate 
the various forms of pneumonia either in words or in 
clinical application. 

The secret of success in treating pneumonia in any 
form lies in early recognition or diagnosis. The best 
that any treatment can do in pneumonia is to lessen 
the severity of the attack, and it can do this best when 
the disease is just developing. It is now quite gen- 
erally accepted that pneumonia, once it asserts itself, 
can not be aborted. On the other hand, correct and 
judicious treatment instituted early in the attack can 
make of this disease a reasonably moderate attack of 
sickness. 

In our own practice pneumonitis in cattle does not 
cause us much worry if we have been called reason- 
ably early. We usually have little trouble in giving 
quite an exact prognosis and as a rule see it verified 
almost in detail. When we are not called in earty in 
the attack, we have learned from experience to guard 
our prognosis decidedly. 



140 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

The diagnosis of pneumonitis in cattle does not offer 
much difficulty. In most instances the attack begins 
with a chill or rigor which may remain in evidence 
only a few minutes. In other cases it may remain 
for several hours; usually, however, it does not per- 
sist for any great length of time, and has passed by 
the time the veterinarian sees the patient. 

The animal stands slightly "humped up" and al- 
most from the very beginning the elbows are turned 
outward. The body temperature is elevated several 
degrees, standing when the chill has passed around 
104 degrees Fahrenheit, or even a little higher. 

Auscultation over the thorax reveals distinct rales, 
and pressure exerted over the intercostal spaces always 
proves painful to the patient. In the early stages 
the cow will maintain the standing position, but later 
in the attack she assumes the recumbent attitude for 
long periods at a time. When in the latter position 
she usually emits a characteristic grunt. 

The appetite is impaired as a rule and in the lat- 
ter stages there may be a discharge from the nose. 
In most cases there is a certain degree of constipa- 
tion at first ; later there is apt to be some diarrhea. 

The treatment of pneumonitis consists of remedial 
agents which have a tendency to support the system, 
especially the heart, and appropriate sero-therapy to 
control secondary infections, such as result from the 
invasion of pus-producing organisms. Measures used 
to exert a direct action on the pathological condition 
are, as a rule, failures. 

The treatment which we have adopted and used 
with much satisfaction for a period of years is about 
as follows: 

We start the treatment, no matter in what stage 
the case comes into our hands, with an old fashioned 



PNEUMONIA 141 

mustard plaster. We make this mustard plaster by 
stirring a pound of powdered mustard into a thin 
paste with hot water, which is then rubbed briskly 
into the hair over both sides of the thorax and along 
the course of the trachea from the larynx to the breast. 
This application causes only slight irritation in cattle 
and lasts for about a half hour, during which the ani- 
mal usually trembles a little and paws some with one 
foot or the other. 

We make no attempt to remove the mustard after 
it has served its purpose, allowing it to dry and come 
off of its own accord in time. Medical treatment we 
limit to one dram each of fluid extracts of nux vom- 
ica and gentian root every few hours during the day. 
If a cough is present we add to this a quarter dram 
of fluid extract of belladonna. On the first day of 
treatment, and again on the fourth day, we inject a 
dose of polyvalent bacterins hypodermically. 

If the appetite is very much below par we double 
the dose of the nux vomica until the cow eats; then 
reduce it to one dram again. We see to it that the 
patient is stabled under hygienic conditions and sup- 
plied with tempting feeds. Keally, the best index to 
the condition of a bovine patient suffering from pneu- 
monitis is the appetite. If the veterinarian can con- 
trive to keep the patient eating regularly and quite 
heartily he is doing well. 

The foregoing comprises the sum total of our treat- 
ment in pneumonitis in cattle. We pay no attention 
to reducing the temperature with coal-tar prepara- 
tions or other febrifuges. If the temperature persists 
at a dangerous height, we find the administration of 
intestinal antiseptics most serviceable. When con- 
fronted with this state of affairs we give a few large 
doses of sulpho-earbolates compound, usually about 



142 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

forty or fifty grains each of calcium, sodium, and zinc 
sulpho carbolates at one dose. This dose we repeat 
at intervals of three or four hours until four doses 
have been given. 

With this treatment most of our cases terminate 
satisfactorily in from seven to ten days. We rarely 
have complications — in fact, practically none — and 
while the past year or two has shown us some fine 
results with sparteine sulphate in this disease, we 
have more faith in this old system. 

Spartein sulphate is used in twenty-grain doses 
every three or four hours in pneumonitis, and its ef- 
fect is very gratifying. I have extolled its merits and 
given details of its effect in "Special Veterinary 
Therapy." 



TUBERCULOSIS 143 



TUBERCULOSIS 



We hesitate to undertake the discussion of this dis- 
ease in a treatise on special therapy. We feel that in 
the space available justice can hardly be done to a 
disease which presents such a variety of clinical phe- 
nomena as this one. Yet, any treatise on the most 
common diseases of dairy cattle would be most glar- 
ingly incomplete did it not include a discussion 
thereon, for tuberculosis is most assuredly one of the 
most common diseases of dairy cattle. 

The longer one is engaged in the practice of vet- 
erinary medicine the more does he become impressed 
with the great variability and the constant modifica- 
tion or aggravation of the clinical signs of this dis- 
ease. Also, the more extensive one's experience with 
this variability of clinical evidences of the disease the 
more impressed he becomes with the idea that tuber- 
culosis is practically universal. One finds it where it 
is least expected, and one finds more than he expected 
to find wherever he finds it. 

The diagnosis of tuberculosis is limited only, in our 
opinion, by the diagnostic acuteness of the diagnos- 
tician. We vividly recall an experience we went 
through in the great Southwest, where tuberculosis is 
not common in native cattle. A dairy near the city 
of El Paso, Texas, milking around five hundred cows, 
was forced by city ordinance to submit the herd to the 
tuberculin test. The dairy was a model from a sani- 
tary standpoint, was hygienically conducted in all de- 
partments and the cows themselves were almost daily 
under the eye of a veterinarian. The cows, mostly 
Holsteins, were almost all bought in Northern states. 
While we knew that the herd had a number of tuber- 



144 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

culous members, we were not prepared for the most 
shocking disclosures made by the tuberculin — namely: 
that out of four hundred and fifty cows tested one 
hundred and seventy-two gave a decidedly positive 
reaction. 

Veterinarians long engaged in practice are never 
surprised by results obtained with the use of tuber- 
culin ; they have seen cows react under such a great 
variety of circumstances and conditions of environ- 
ment that they always expect to find it. 

In this place we must confine our remarks, however, 
to those clinical manifestations of tuberculosis which 
the practicing veterinarian may encounter in the indi- 
vidual cow in the daily rounds of practice ; those mani- 
festations which must attract his attention to the tuber- 
cular character, or nature, of more or less usual patho- 
logical states. 

We are but little concerned with the tuberculin- 
testing of cows in herds, because, when we once arrive 
at the tuberculin application, we are expecting to find 
tuberculosis. Our task, in this treatise, is to attempt 
a discussion of those marks which should demonstrate 
the necessity of the tuberculin test in cases where we 
do not expect to find it. And it is indeed a task to 
make the discussion both intelligent and brief. 

To begin with, the veterinarian whose practice 
brings him in daily contact with herds of dairy cattle 
or, to express it more specifically, with the individuals 
of those herds, must be constantly on the lookout for 
manifestations of tuberculosis. If he relaxes his guard 
in this respect in any case, no matter what the path- 
ology of the case under his care at the time, he is in 
serious danger of jeopardizing the financial interests of 
his client and the social welfare of humanity at large. 

The veterinarian's examination, especially in sub- 



TUBERCULOSIS 145 

acute or chronic diseases, should invariably include 
careful palpation of the superficial lymph glands, such 
as the prescapular, precrural, iliac, and mammary 
groups. Enlargement of any of these glands to a 
marked degree is sufficient cause for the application of 
tuberculin, especially when the enlargement is bilateral 
in any group. 

Localized tuberculous abscesses are very common in 
the submaxillary, cervical and pharyngeal lymph 
glands, assuming immense proportions on occasions. 
If the veterinarian merely lances these and fails to 
recognize their true significance, he is in grave error. 
Another very frequent location of a localized tuber- 
cular abscess is on the side of the face, just a trifle 
below the eye and near the facial tuberosity. Ab- 
scesses of this nature are always slow in forming ; some 
of them rupture spontaneously, discharge their con- 
tents and heal over, only to enlarge again very soon 
thereafter. There is here a fairly accurate diagnostic 
point, to wit: these abscesses may rupture and dis- 
charge their contents spontaneously. In the cow, ab- 
scess formations, not tuberculous, hardly ever rupture 
spontaneously. Immense collections of non-specific pus 
are retained sub-dermally in the cow for indefinte pe- 
riods if they are not molested surgically. 

In a dairy practice, abscess formation in any group 
of lymphatics, not accompanied by definite pathological 
conditions to which such abscess formation might be 
attributed, should always be suspected as being tuber- 
culous. While the experienced practitioner can make 
a reasonably sure identification by macroscopic pus ex- 
amination, we do not counsel the lancing of abscesses 
in the region of any lymphatic groups until a negative 
tuberculin reaction has been seen. If the reaction is 
positive they most assuredly should not be opened. To 



146 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

open these abscesses before a positive diagnosis of their 
non-tuberculous character is made, by means of tuber- 
culin, is not acting upon good judgment. The surgical 
invasion can have no ultimate value if the case is 
tuberculous and only endangers other members of the 
herd with the possibility of their becoming infected 
from the discharges. 

Localized tuberculous abscesses are never a contra- 
indication with regard to the tuberculin test, nor are 
other localized pus collections of sufficient import to 
seriously interfere with the intelligent interpretation 
of the tuberculin reaction. The ophthalmic method 
has been shown to be just as reliable in the disease 
in bovines as the ophthalmic mallein application for 
diagnosing glanders in equines, and it would be the 
method of choice here. It is more prompt than the 
subcutaneous method and, besides, provides for a 
distinct control of each subject tested in the eye which 
has not been subjected to the tuberculin. 

Extensive enlargement of the bronchial and medias- 
tinal lymphatic glands has been known to produce 
various acute clinical manifestations. One of the al- 
leged conditions resulting from an extensive enlarge- 
ment of these glands is a thoracic choke, presumably 
due to encroachment of the swollen glands on the 
esophagus. No doubt cases of thoracic choke from this 
cause are very uncommon, because the glandular tume- 
faction must always assume immense proportions be- 
fore it can interfere seriously with the limits of flex- 
ibility of the esophagus. 

In the liver even very extensive tubercular changes 
rarely produce clinical signs which can be diagnosed 
as being produced by this disease. Why this should be 
true we can not explain, unless it be due to the fact 



TUBERCULOSIS 147 

that we are somewhat limited in our diagnostic ability 
in diseases that affect the liver. 

We have seen postmortem demonstrations on cattle 
which were apparently in the "pink of condition" dur- 
ing life, showing a liver fairly rotten with tubercular 
invasion. 

Tubercular involvement of the intestinal mucosa, es- 
pecially of the terminal portion, is frequently the 
cause of a persistent, or recurring, diarrhea. 

This diarrhoea is marked by the fact that it pro- 
duces none of the common by-effects of benign or 
non-specific diarrhoeas. Although it may persist for 
days, there is no apparent abdominal pain nor any 
distinct sign of derangement in the alimentary tract. 
The evacuations are evidently the result of the irri- 
tation accompanying certain stages of the pathological 
processes taking place in the hindermost gut. 

If a rectal examination is made in these cases it is 
usually no difficult matter to detect great numbers of 
pea-sized nodules, many of them undergoing degen- 
erative changes. It is probably as a result of these 
changes of a degenerative character that the diarrhoea 
occurs. Mucus, streaked with blood and occasionally 
blood-clots, can nearly always be detected in the feces 
in diarrhoea of this form. 

Cases of slowly developing ascites in cattle, not re- 
ferable to any demonstrable causative factor, may al- 
ways be suspected as being of tuberculous origin. It is 
barely possible that some of these can be attributed 
to interference with the portal circulation from ex- 
tensive tuberculous involvement of the liver. Usually, 
however, there is a distinct tubercular involvement 
of the peritoneum which can often be detected by 
careful rectal examination in the form of numerous 
nodules or pearls. 



148 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

Tubercular pericarditis is a form of tuberculosis 
which we have seen on several occasions when no other 
clinical signs of tuberculosis were evident. The ex- 
tensiveness of the invasion of the disease in some of 
these cases is most astounding when on postmortem 
examination we attempt to establish a connection be- 
tween the lesion and the symptoms presented by the 
animal during life. 

Symptoms of tuberculous pericarditis are indefinite 
until the heart muscle and the valvular apparatus are 
seriously hampered by excessive effusions or, possibly, 
adhesions. Cows so affected have exacerbations of 
dyspnea without provocation ; recurring, transient edem- 
atous swellings in the anterior portions of the body. 
Auscultation detects the faulty heart action, and fre- 
quently pressure over the heart occasions pain and 
temporary dyspnea. The left elbow is habitually in 
an abducted state, and a cough is invariably present. 
In some cases there is a slight limp on the left pectoral 
limb. 

Tuberculous involvement of an articulation in an 
extremity is not a rare condition in cows. Most fre- 
quently a pelvic limb is affected, and the hip joint is 
the usual seat of the lesion. There is continued lame- 
ness and, later, enlargement of the tissues surround- 
ing the articulation. In this affection there is nearly 
always a marked enlargement of the superficial lym- 
phatics on the affected side. 

Tuberculous mastitis can frequently be diagnosed in 
the absence of any other symptoms of tuberculosis. 

Acute mastitis tuberculous in character is not ac- 
companied by manifestations whose severity coincides 
with the gravity of the disease ; the clinical findings 
are rather sub-acute. The affected quarter is filled 
with a floccular, cheesy, milk-like matter. The supra- 
mammary lymphatics are tender to the touch, even be- 



TUBERCULOSIS 149 

fore they are much enlarged. The great swelling, 
tenseness and soreness which we find in the udder in 
other forms of mastitis is lacking here; the udder is 
the seat of some swelling, but not much. This swell- 
ing is somewhat "doughy" in consistency and not 
very painful. The. body temperature is elevated but 
little or not at all. We have met with cases of acute 
tuberculous mastitis of this type in unbred heifers. 

Chronic tuberculous lesions in the mammary glands 
appear in various forms. Very commonly seen is the 
form consisting of a solid mass of tissue in the glandu- 
lar substance. To the touch this mass has the feeling 
of smooth, fibrous tissue firmly compact and sharply 
outlined. 

In other forms numerous small masses, of hazel- 
nut size, can be felt in various parts of the gland. In 
all cases there is enlargement of the regional lym- 
phatic glands. Abscess formation of tuberculous origin 
is not uncommon in the substance of the mammary 
glands. When such abscesses rupture into the lacteal 
cistern, which is not an unusual occurrence by any 
means, there can be no question of the infectiousness 
of the milk. 

Tuberculous meningitis occurs in cows but is prac- 
tically never seen until the patient is in extremis as 
the result of generalized tuberculosis. 

Habitual or recurrent tympanites is subject to the 
suspicion of being tuberculosis. A herd cow who par- 
takes of the same rations as the other members of the 
herd and has repeated attacks of tympanites with no 
particular cause, is a good subject for tuberculiniza- 
tion. 

Bovine nymphomaniacs always deserve the tuber- 
culin test, before any other form of treatment is in- 
stituted. 



150 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

Neoformations in the testicular substance of males 
are always to be looked upon as tuberculous until a 
negative test proves the contrary. 

This concludes the consideration of the varieties of 
tuberculous lesions which are commonly encountered, 
unexpectedly and yet frequently. Even from a brief 
outline, such as this one, it can be seen how constant 
must be the practitioner's vigil, and in what strange 
clinical disguises localized tuberculous processes will 
make their appearance. 

The control of tuberculosis in dairy herds depends 
to a very great extent upon this vigilance on the 
part of the attending veterinarian, which in itself is 
one of the best arguments against the licensure of 
empirical practitioners. The treatment of unrecog- 
nized local or regional manifestations of tuberculosis 
is one of the important factors bearing on the spread 
of this disease. 



INCIPIENT TUBERCULOSIS 151 



INCIPIENT TUBERCULOSIS IN FAMILY COWS 

Those practitioners who are located in villages and 
cities of moderate size where ordinances have not yet 
been passed prohibiting the housing of cows within 
the corporate limits, have usually a number of clients 
who keep a cow to furnish milk for the family. If 
there are circumstances where the attending veteri- 
narian should promptly recognize diseases and con- 
ditions which affect the wholesomeness of the milk and 
the ultimate well-being of the consumer, those cir- 
cumstances are certainly found here. Those veteri- 
narians who have been close observers and who keep 
more or less closely in touch with their clientele can 
name many instances in which sickness in the family 
and the family cow are closely allied. Sometimes it 
requires the most exact scientific discrimination and 
well trained powers of observation to detect the 
connection; the veterinarian who has the training and 
is conscientious can, however, make the proper deduc- 
tions and sift the case down. 

To take under consideration the entire field for 
study on this point would entail almost endless writ- 
ings. We will take up the one condition which is more 
common in family cows than is generally presumed, 
and will confine our remarks to the early stages of 
this condition. 

Incipient tuberculosis in family cows deserves a 
separate chapter in our text books. Despite the teach- 
ings and theories of Koch and other equally eminent 
investigators, there is a close connection between tu- 
berculosis in the cow and tuberculosis in the family. 
I say family, not humanity in general. 



152 SPECIAL CATTLE THERAPY 

Milk from the family cow and cream from the fam- 
ily cow go to the members of the family as milk and 
cream, undiluted with milk or cream from other cows 
or with water. Therefore, the one tuberculous cow, 
or several tuberculous cows, in a herd of dairy cows 
are not nearly so dangerous to the ultimate consumer 
as is the tuberculous family cow to the family using 
its milk and cream directly and undiluted. 

My experience has been that, in every instance of 
a family using the milk from a family cow with a 
fairly well marked case of tuberculosis, which has 
come to my attention, I have been able to satisfy myself 
that one or more members of that family are already 
tuberculous or are "getting consumption." (And in 
many cases it does not take very long before some 
member of the family begins to show signs of the 
disease. Sometimes a few months is enough time to 
infect some members virulently.) 

For this reason I say incipient tuberculosis deserves 
a separate chapter in our text books; it is in the in- 
cipient stage it must be recognized to prevent the 
harm it might do once it becomes fully developed. 
Here I would say that the family cow which is more 
or less regularly attacked by spells of "off feed," by 
mild, repeated attack of indigestion, especially, if at 
the same time there are symptoms referable to the 
mammary glands, is a good subject for the tuberculin 
test. Usually, in the family cow, the reaction is either 
clearly negative or typically positive. This is prob- 
ably due to the fact that the surroundings and gen- 
eral treatment accorded the family cow are more fa- 
vorable to the ideal application of the test than is the 
case with cows in herds. 

Histories of the infection of families with tuber- 
culosis through the medium of the milk from the fam- 



INCIPIENT TUBERCULOSIS 153 

ily cow will continue to be written until all communi- 
ties provide rigid rules and regulations to govern the 
production and sale, and even the use, of milk. Every 
person who keeps a cow for milk should be com- 
pelled by law to submit the animal to the tuberculin 
test at least once every year. Once every six months 
would be even better. Under present conditions the 
veterinarian's attention is called to these cases only 
when the cow is actually sick, and more likely than 
not has been feeding the family with virulent milk 
for months past. 



INDEX 



Abdominal ailments, 

obscure 52 

Actinomycosis 14 

Actinomycosis, case reports 18 

Afterbirth, retained 97 

Agalactia, acute, simple.. 121 
Ailments, obscure 

abdominal 52 

Alopecia areata 101 

Amaurosis 25 

Ammonia, aromatic spir- 
its of, for tympanites. . 42 
Anorexia from obscure 

causes 52 

Anorexia, persistent 45 

Ante-partum vaginal 

prolapse 105 

Appetite, aberration of . . . 46 

Appetite, depraved 47 

Arsenic for liver flukes. . 55 

Arthritis, acute 30 

Arthritis deformans 30 

Atresia of the lacteal duct. 127 
Atropin for eye affections. 22 
Atropin for hemorrhage... 28 
Azoturia 70 

Bleeding from the nose. . 26 

Blindness 25 

Bloat 40 

Cajuput for repelling flies. 29 
Cancer of the eye 22 



Chapped teats 137 

Coccidial dysentery 60 

Colic 51 

Concretions in sub-urethral 

diverticulum 113 

Corneal ulcers 21 

Cow pox 135 

Cracked teats 137 

Cyst, Douglass' pouch 115 

Cysts, sublingual 8 

Dental irregularities 10 

Diarrhea in calves, simple 65 

Distoma hepaticum 53 

Douglass ' pouch cyst 115 

Drenching, the proper 

method of 5 

Dropsical swellings 55 

Drugs, action of 5 

Drugs, administration of.. 5 
Dysenteries, differentiation 

of 63 

Dysentery of calves, 

infectious 67 

Dysentery, coccidial 60 

Dysentery, enzootic 3(5 

Dysentery — Johnes disease 62 

Eclamptic parturient 

paresis 91 

Enzootic dysentery 56 

Epistnxis 26 

Epizootic keratitis 19 

E version of the uterus. . . .108 



155 



156 



INDEX 



Eye, anesthesia of 21 

Eye, cancer of 22 

Fasciola hepaticum 53 

Fetal death, symptoms of. 93 

Fibrolysin for hygromas . . 33 

Fistula, lacteal 131 

Fluke, liver 53 

Fly repellent 29 

Foot-and-mouth disease. ... 11 

Foreign bodies, ingested. . 31 

Foreign bodies in tongue. 12 

Fractures 31 

Hemorrhage following 

dehorning 27 

Hemorrhage from the nose 26 

Herpes tonsurans 102 

Hoven 40 

Hygroma 32 

Hypodermic medication... 6 

Impaction of the rumen. . 48 
Ingested foreign bodies. . . 34 
Intestinal antiseptic for 

impaction 50 

Intestinal antiseptics for 

Thurow 's disease 39 

Johnes disease 62 

Keratitis, epizootic 19 

Knee, hygroma of 32 

Lacerated injuries 29 

Lacteal duct, atresia of.. 127 

Lacteal fistula 131 

Laparotomy 35 

Liver fluke 53 

Liver, foreign bodies in. . 36 

Lumpy jaw 14 

Lungs, foreign bodies in.. 37 

Mammitis 123 

Mania, puerperal 77 



Mastitis 123 

Medication of cattle, 

successful 7 

Medication, hypodermic... 6 

Medication, oral 5 

Mercuric chlorid for can- 
cer of the eye 24 

Mercuric oxid for keratitis 20 

Milk fever 83 

Molars, deciduous 10 

Molars, defective 10 

Monsel's solution for 

hemorrhage 28 

Mumps 13 

Muscular rheumatism 68 

Nux vomica for impaction. 50 

Obstetrical paralysis 79 

"Off feed" 52 

Opacities of lens or cornea. 21 

Paralysis, acute bulbar. ... 73 

Paralysis, obstetrical 79 

Paralysis, senile 76 

Paraplegia 70 

Paresis, parturient 83 

Parotitis, acute 13 

Parturient paresis 83 

Parturient paresis, 

eclamptic 91 

Parturient paresis, 

. recurrent 90 

Parturient syncope 81 

Phymosis 118 

Phytolacca for actinomy- 
cosis 18 

Pica 46 

Pneumonia 139 

Potassium iodid for 

actinomycosis . 17 

Potassium iodid for liver 

flukes 53 



INDEX 



157 



Pouch, intermaxillary 8 

Prolapse of the uterus. . . .108 

Prolapse, vaginal 105 

Puerperal mania 77 

Puerperal mania — Rabies, 
differentiation 78 

Rabies 94 

Rabies — Puerperal mania, 

differentiation 78 

Ranula 8 

Retained secundines 97 

Rheumatism, muscular. ... 68 

Ring worm 102 

Senile paralysis 76 

Silver nitrate for corneal 

ulcers 21 

Sore teats 137 

Spartein sulphate for 

pneumonia 142 

Staphyloma 21 

Sterility 100 

Stomatitis 11 

Stranguary 113 

Surfeit p 43 

Syncope, parturient 81 



Synechia 21 

Tapping 41 

Teats, chapped 137 

Teats, cracked 137 

Teats, sore 137 

Thurow's disease 38 

Tongue, actinomycosis of. 16 
Tongue, foreign bodies in 12 

Tongue, woody 16 

Trocar, use of 41 

Tuberculosis 143 

Tuberculosis in family 

cows 151 

Tuberculosis, incipient. . . .151 
Tympanites 40 

Ulcers, corneal 21 

Uterus, eversion of 108 

Vaginal prolapse 105 

Variola 135 

Wire cuts. 29 

Woody tongue 16 

Wright 's treatment for 

bloat 42 

Zinc sulphate for keratitis £1 




11 



